The Exile Gate
by Duo Radon
Summary: A sequel to my first fic, "Sugati"; Wikus searches for the mysterious woman who evaded him last year and finds much more than he planned.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The breeze was gentle and the sunshine plentiful this November afternoon in Johannesburg. Tania Bekker stood solemnly on a ridge overlooking the charred remains of what had once been a surreal setting: an alien refugee camp turned war zone. Now, four years after the bloody skirmish had finally separated human from Prawn, the resilient African bionetwork was beginning to reclaim the spoiled land and green things were well rooted everywhere. But in spite of nature's tenacity there would always be scars, and no one knew that better than the woman who pensively scanned the corpse of District 10, searching for answers she knew she'd never obtain.

"Sweetie?"

"Hm?"

"Hey! Anyone home? C'mon, what's the hold up?" Hendrik goaded warmly, though he was well aware of the reason his wife had fallen behind. "Thought you were hungry..."

"I am. I just wish we didn't have to walk past this," Tania swept a hand towards the District below them before she turned to meet her husband's eyes. He was a good man...kind, understanding, and undeniably handsome; statuesque in build with fair skin that contrasted sharply against smooth, raven hair. Hendrik Bekker was very much the sort of man a causal observer might expect to see paired with a tall, beautiful blonde. But he wasn't her first, and the circumstances that had torn apart her previous marriage were those no human on Earth could ever have foreseen.

"Hey, this is _your_ favorite restaurant," Hendrik projected, quite familiar with her very special sort of emotional baggage.

"I know..."

"_I_ wanted to go to my brother's braai..."

"_Ugh_. Your brother's a pig," Tania scowled with far too much sincerity.

"Granted. But lunch would've been free," Hendrik smiled at her, and Tania couldn't help but return the smirk. In truth, she never would have persevered through the turmoil surrounding her without Hendrik's support, and she loved him for that if nothing else.

In an attempt to shed the shackles of longing, she sidled up next to him and hugged his arm sweetly. "I'm sorry, dear. Let's get going..."

As the couple ambled towards the café, Tania made a concentrated effort not to look back over the District. Her gaze she could control, but her thoughts would always stray back to Wikus from time to time. There were, after all, so many questions unanswered, and so little resolved. Everyone assured her that he was dead. Even if, somehow, he'd survived the transformation and melded into the throng of aliens, he surely couldn't have outlived the conflict three years later. Wikus was no warrior. He wasn't even an athlete. He was a gentle soul unfathomably corrupted by invading monsters...so much so that he would become the world's most infamous traitor, a man who had not only betrayed his family and his country, but his very _species_. At least, that was how the world viewed him. Tania refused to allow the popular opinion to settle within her; instead, in secret, she liked to entertain the possibility that maybe Wikus had survived long enough to disembark with the Prawns. Maybe even now, he was residing on a strange alien world, living a simple and peaceful life, his thoughts lingering over her just as _she_ would remember _him_...


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Patakatifu**

A seemingly insurmountable distance away from the place of his birth, Wikus van de Merwe stood on the shore of a crystalline lake, gazing absentmindedly into the aquamarine atmosphere of the planet he now called "home". At his feet lay a distraction as commonplace to the poleepkwan people as it was to his own kind, though the method of fishing here was considerably more technology-dependant.

Several yards out on the lake, a mechanical lure burbled and twitched, mimicking the plight of a wounded animal. In theory, one of the lake's larger denizens was meant to gulp the little machine, and once inside, it would emit a swift electrical shock, paralyzing the prey. Then immobilized, the fisherman had only to utilize the retriever that Wikus had tucked under his arm and it would fire out a thin cable topped off with a grappling barb. The barb would meet the lure, the prey would be snared, and the retriever would reel it back to the operator. Naturally, this only worked if a creature took the bait. Today it seemed nothing worth catching was interested, and Wikus's mind had deviated from his task almost immediately.

So he gazed up at the clear sky of early evening, watching the specks of various craft sail past miles overhead, brightly illuminated by the sinking sun. Even after a year on the poleepkwan homeworld of Patakatifu, the human found himself frequently occupied with thoughts of Earth and the people he'd left behind. They didn't happen by accident, these bouts of reminiscence. Out of a need to keep those he still loved close to him, Wikus made time every day to think of them in a ritual others might call prayer, or meditation. He knew that if he didn't, there was a very real chance those mental images might slip away, superceded by the bizarre and overwhelming sensations of the life he now lived.

Even after settling into a comfortable daily schedule, Wikus was constantly occupied with new lessons to learn and more curiosities to marvel over. He'd done his homework while on board the freighter Fiordraa, of course, but seeing an alien planet on a monitor and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different things. The excited Earthling had no idea what to expect when the Fiordraa finally docked at Caltaaris Station last year.

Aside from the fact that it was one of seven, the moon of Caltaaris was uncannily similar to the Earth's moon. It was gray and dusty, free of indigenous life, and the perfect anchor for the space station that overgrew most of its surface. The facility itself wouldn't show Wikus much more than that which he'd already become familiar with on the ship, but once he and his poleepkwan family were shuttled down to Patakatifu, everything would change.

Sadly, not every change was for the better. Much of the ship's crew, it happened, stayed with the ship, and Wikus had to bid a reluctant farewell to people he'd grown indescribably close to over the three year journey. Commander Ruwala and General Kwaziak had been genuinely despondent to see their human comrade depart, as was his supervisor Kotai and the enthusiastic Doctor Grenyo. Wikus knew he was free to keep in touch with everyone via data transmission, but it had been a difficult goodbye nonetheless.

One soldier who would stay on Patakatifu was the surly General Tarzier. The homeworld was his normal post unless he was needed on a mission like that he'd just lead, but regardless, Tarzier was determined to keep tabs on his charges until they were all safely tucked into their new home. Any commendation he'd receive for escorting Wikus and Yeen back safely was secondary; after the mess Wikus had caused on Keehar, the humorless old warrior didn't trust the pair with their own lives.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Wikus and his band of brothers were delivered to the metropolis of Oolund without incident. A massive river called the Kaltu roared down the distant mountains before curving west to empty in the ocean, with Oolund sandwiching it at its most agreeable point. The city was gargantuan, more than twice the size of Tokyo, though it was impossible to get a sense of its range from the air. As Yeen had explained to his curious Sugati, all poleepkwan buildings and cities were constructed within a strict set of guidelines established many millennia ago. Their people had learned through bitter trial and error that technology cannot overstep the natural world; for a people to thrive, they must work _with_ their planet. The codes that resulted gave their structures and settled areas a more organic appearance, flowing along with the lay of the land rather than plowing through it. Every building was finished with a coating of clear resin that provided additional strength and kept the elements from eroding the material underneath. When the sun shone on Oolund, the city sparkled like the water it bounded, creating the illusion that the river had spilled its banks for miles on either side. In addition, every rooftop that wasn't marked for mechanical purposes had been planted with a carefully selected variety of garden stock that scrubbed the air, shaded and cooled the citizens below, and melted the urban sprawl into the wilderness that surrounded it.

Just outside the east border of the metropolis was Oolund Heavy Scale Manufacturing, a factory so large it could have been considered a city in itself. The place had reason to be expansive; it was the leading producer and repair center of spacecraft on the continent. OHSM was also the company at which Wikus and his friends were assigned employment, much to the human's delight. It was an impressive facility even by poleepkwan measure, but to an alien who had never envisioned such a thing, the factory was mind-boggling. It was full of dark corridors and catwalks that might suddenly open onto a work bay six times the size of the largest football stadium, a sensation that rattled one's equilibrium and turned the knees to jelly.

Every division of the facility was an irresistible draw to Wikus, though some of the more dangerous sections were off limits to the comparatively fragile Earthling. With so many oversized machines moving and operating, casualties were surprising rare, but inevitable. Even with the seemingly miraculous poleepkwan medical technology at hand, Wikus's superiors were careful to keep him out of harm's way as frequently as possible. So, proudly shouldering his new label as a mechanic, he worked on small scale tasks inside partially assembled quadrants of freighters and shuttles. The labor wasn't always easy, but he got to work with his hands...and

occasionally, an exosuit. Punching the clock had never been so much fun.

As predicted, Yeen took up an engineering position within Wikus's department, and the pair saw each other frequently during the day. Brutus, who had shown a penchant for processing livestock during the trip home, was salvaged from the mines he'd once worked and placed in the OHSM's busy kitchen. Lek, Tookanuk and Spek's father Hlu were also given various roles at the factory. It wasn't common for a Commander to take such exception when assigning drones to their places of employ, but Wikus and Yeen had earned something more than the standard and Ruwala made certain the tight-knit group stayed together.

But, as with almost everything in life, there was a hitch. Patakatifu was a much larger planet than the Earth, with a longer revolution. And that meant a longer day as well as many more days per year. Patakatifu saw 46 hours in one rotation, and when it came to the work day, there were only two shifts: one during the daylight and one at night. The year consisted of 512 days and concepts like "weekends" and "holidays" were quite foreign. The only exception was the annual Festival of the Last Moon, a three-day party that had its roots in an ancient custom and was celebrated by the entire populace at once.

For a poleepkwa, 23 consecutive hours of work every day of the year was simply business as usual. Drones lived to work, it was the factor that gave them purpose. In fact, a worker that fell ill and couldn't report to his duties was regarded with the utmost sympathy, even pity. It was inconceivable that anyone would _not_ want to go to work every day. But of course for Wikus, this was an impossibility.

On board the Fiordraa, time was almost irrelevant; the ship ran non-stop. Wikus hadn't realized how many adjustments his caretakers had made so that he could work and sleep on a schedule similar to that he'd always kept. The requirements of his physical self were well understood now and he wasn't expected to attempt to keep up with his friends once on Patakatifu. In fact, it was expressly forbidden within the newly published Manual of Human Biology and Behavior that Grenyo had handed down to his patient's new doctors.

But keeping to his own special schedule was tricky to say the least, and Wikus was quite miserable for the first few weeks. Sometimes he was awake during the day, sometimes it was dark. His Circadian rhythm couldn't normalize; he slept poorly, ate fitfully, experienced frequent headaches and stomach upsets... it was the worst case of jet lag he'd ever suffered.

Ever attentive to his partner's well being, Yeen trucked the miserable alien off to the medical center where an ingenious solution was reached. The surgical team developed a genetically-invasive procedure that would reset Wikus's internal clock to keep time with Patakatifu's lengthy day. As much as the helpless man hated the thought of another tweak to his internal anatomy, he could offer no alternative resolution to a problem that simply had to be amended. Much to his surprise, after several days of recovery, he found he had the energy to last the entire day alongside his companions and stay soundly asleep for the full 16 hours each of them required every night.

Even with his new-found stamina, it was deemed important for the human to take one day off after every 30 he worked, and today was one such respite. This time to himself could sometimes be lonely with everyone away, but the surroundings were undeniably serene and the living quarters very comfortable.

The home he shared with Yeen, Joji, Brutus, Lek, Hlu, Tookanuk, Mita and Spek sat on the shore of a clear-water lake, surrounded by fringes of untainted wilderness a short commute south of the city. It was a custom job especially gifted to the recipients of the Ulu Mahan...not the spacious mansion that human well-to-dos might expect, but instead, a cozy melding of cutting-edge technology and nature-friendly construction. The ground floor was mainly kitchen, dining area and communal living space. Upstairs, each resident had his own bedroom, which were essentially large capsules side by side and stacked two high, rather like a huge honeycomb. Each room contained a bed, storage units and a window at the rear. Wikus's room was the furthermost on the right, which also featured a larger window alongside his bed that overlooked the second-story garden patio and the lake.

The house that sheltered a one-of-a-kind alien needed to make some innovations to traditional design so the Earthling could be comfortable. Wikus's bed was equipped with a cushy mattress, unlike the firm padding in a poleepkwan bunk, and was further nested with the wooly pelts and pillows made for him on the Fiordraa. The region's winters were chilly at their worst, but the summers were often very hot and humid. Poleepkwa were hardly sensitive to temperature extremes and their houses were rarely heated or air conditioned so that adjustment, too, had been accorded. But Wikus's favorite feature was his bathroom.

The housing engineers had given him the chance to describe what he needed in a lavatory and it had been beautifully built to suit him to a tee. It was a modest, circular room in pale gray, with a heated non-slip floor and a narrow window along the top to let in sunlight. All of his new towels, washcloths and accessories were stashed away in bins that closed flush with the wall. Wikus had a proper shower stall now that even featured a receptacle for his specially formulated soap. There was also a sink with counter space around it and, much to his delight, the engineers had managed to replicate a comfortable sit-down toilet, with a more advanced operating mechanism, of course. Upon inspection of their handiwork, Wikus had quickly declared it "the best bathroom in the Universe".

Even though it was tempting to spend all of his day off lounging in his favorite room, the great outdoors offered enticements of their own. Across the lake, one could observe a fascinating natural structure; microorganisms that secreted a transparent yellow silica had produced expansive and delicate weavings of brilliant crystal, a terrestrial reef. In turn, these beautiful structures provided homes and hideaways for many more tiny creatures. And beyond the reef, the hills that gradually sloped up to the horizon had been cultivated for a variety of lovely edibles. When the crops began to ripen, the breeze would bring the sweet smells of fresh produce across the lake.

The land that cradled their little patch of habitation could have been called a wood, yet true plants were unknown on Patakatifu. Fungi of all shapes, sizes and colors were commonplace, many that bore their spores inside edible pods which filled the roles of vegetable and fruit. But the dominant flora were creatures that maintained characteristics of both plants and animals in a kingdom called "Nidu". Nidu were everywhere, filling every available niche. Generally, they remained rooted to the soil, drawing nutrients from it, and most required sunlight as well. But they also utilized simple, animal-like systems inside their myriad forms. They could move part or all of their bodies; a few could even uproot themselves and walk about. Some traveled surprising distances to find nutrients, such as the towering Gluund. These hydra-shaped Nidu could reach 50 feet in height and weigh several tons. When they tapped a region of usable resources, they could flip themselves end over end and turn up just about anywhere. These migrations usually happened during the night, a spectacle Wikus had found especially unsettling the first time he'd witnessed it. It was commonplace for a day shift to arrive at their place of business only to find it overrun with a hoard of Gluund, so most urban areas kept a task force whose sole job it was to relocate these nuisance creatures.

The open areas around the shore of their lake were carpeted in Toroswa, or "eel grass", the most common species of Nidu on the planet. At a glance, they could be mistaken for true grass; each organism was blade shaped and deep green, reaching a length of about four inches. But these blades swayed on their own, and each was topped with a black dot, a simplistic eye that kept the flat of the body ever facing the sun. Likewise, most of the Nidu and other living things that made up Oolund's wooded areas were moderately docile. Some did rely on large animals for sustenance and Wikus had been repeatedly warned about their presence, but for the most part he was free to explore the territory on his own.

It was on one of these solitary strolls five months ago that Wikus had picked up an unlikely companion. A commotion in the undergrowth had caught his attention and he'd happened upon another snapshot of the natural world's savage drama. A heavy, boar-sized predator had unearthed a nest of some kind, and it was gobbling up the little gray orbs within, using gelatinous tendrils on either side of its face to flick the spheres into its sturdy jaws. The little balls, evidently animals themselves, were feverishly attempting to roll away from the danger, but it was clear that the entire nest would be a loss. And then one, by sheer chance, slipped past the darting tentacles and rolled straight to the curious human, taking refuge behind his boot. Wikus was immediately reminded of Yeen's prudent "look but don't get involved" lesson, but the tiny thing huddled behind his foot tugged irrepressibly at his heartstrings and he swiftly pocketed the ball and made his retreat.

Once home, Wikus inspected the new animal carefully, rolling it gently in his hand. It was no larger than a tangerine, but in comparison to its Earthly look-alike, it was a giant. After he'd managed to coax it open, Wikus could see that it very closely resembled a woodlouse. Its exterior was formed of tightly segmented armor, with softer plating across its belly. It had a very cute little face, with large, complex eyes and many tiny mouthparts. Its two front limbs were larger than the rest and mimicked a crab's arms, with pinching, snipping prongs. Six more pairs of legs ran the length of its body, each ending in two pointed toes. Tufts of fluff poked out around the points where its legs and head joined the body and it sported a long pair of antennae at its head and tail end. Wikus was immediately enamored with the pill bug and chose to name him "Roly". It didn't take a lot of debate to convince Yeen to allow the isopod to stay on as a pet, especially after Wikus spun the sad tale of Roly's littermates. But the drone confirmed his human's suspicions that it was only a hatchling and would grow much larger before it reached adulthood.

And larger he did become. Now no longer pocket-sized, Roly weighed over 20 pounds and, when curled up, was slightly larger than a basketball. His dust colored shell had morphed into a beautiful blue mottled one, with dabs of whitish-gray that imitated spots of light on the forest floor, where these creatures would normally be found. He trundled after Wikus here and there, but unlike the pill bugs of Earth, Roly could roll himself along when in ball form, at a fairly decent pace. Although, with his face tucked away he lacked precision and Wikus had been bowled clean off his feet more than once.

As was typical, Roly had spent most of the day close by Wikus's side, even if the arthropod was utterly uninterested in the man's activities. Instead, he busied himself with grazing on eel grass, snipping the stalks at their base and nibbling them down one at a time.

Meanwhile, Wikus's mental meanderings had turned down a road he wished he could forget. As much as he tried to put her out of his mind, he couldn't help but see the face of the woman he'd pursued on Keehar. He'd only gotten a fleeting glimpse then, but her visage was seared into his memory. Who was she? _What_ was she? He didn't want to give in to wild speculation; Yeen warned that would "only lead to trouble". And Commander Ruwala had promised to share any information she received with him but after three years nothing had surfaced, not even a rumor. The best thing he could do for himself was to give her up. And yet...

"Hey!" Wikus exclaimed, jarred out of his musings by an abrupt and repeated thump against his ankle. Roly had an entire meadow of eel grass to browse and yet he was only contented with the bits beneath his master's bare feet. Clearly the man hadn't responded to his gentle clicking so he'd taken to bumping his shell against the distracted biped. "M'alright, fine..." Wikus relented and stepped a couple paces sideways. The pill bug emitted a pleased chatter and resumed picking at the slightly crushed blades.

Wikus made it a point to sigh long and loud, even though there was no one around to appreciate it. His gaze wandered over to the glint of bright crimson floating quietly at the small dock just beyond the house. Yeen had made good on a pact they'd established early during the journey home. Wikus had been on his best behavior after the incident on Keehar, working diligently and obediently, making steady progress. Shortly after their arrival, he'd been rewarded with the chance to earn his own pilot's license. OHSM required several operator's license qualifications of its employees; adding on a private craft registration hadn't been a problem.

The ship itself came later, from a vehicle trader that frequented the factory. The mass of inoperable metal, once a Drusian Fescalt R5, was hardly recognizable as a ship and it was secured for next to nothing. But with many nights and free days of hard work, Wikus and Yeen restored the ship's beauty and functionality. The two-seater Repulsorlift driven craft suited the human perfectly; Drusians were very similar to humans in size and the controls were easy to handle. An adult poleepkwa found the back seat rather cramped, but the youngsters loved to go for an evening flight. Likewise, Wikus would often spend at least part of his free day in the air, but not today. Something about today just felt...off.

Fortunately, the man was broken from his reverie before he had the chance to become despondent over it. A stout black shape came into view on the dirt road that lead to the train station, his work satchel slung over his shoulder. The trio of parents would still be in town, picking up their children from their work-study program while Tookanuk often stayed late to file his reports, which meant Brutus was almost always the first one home. Finally relieved of the quiet, Wikus waved him a friendly hello.

"Hey," Brutus clicked, tossing his pack on the ground, "Catch anything? Doesn't look like it..."

"Nah. Nothing's biting today. How was work?"

"Mnf," the drone grunted as he plopped down on the shore and drew the tackle box into his lap. "Well, Durko crushed one of those coolant canisters with a loader. Went _everywhere_. Everything in Receiving Bay Three's blue now...and every_one_. Lona's _pissed_."

Wikus burst into a fit of laughter. "Man, everything good always happens when I'm not there!"

"Good! Hmf. That stuff _stinks_...here, use this one." Brutus offered a silver sphere he'd dug out of the box to Wikus.

"Nooo..."

"Yes! You won't catch anything with that piece of crap," Brutus huffed, getting to his feet.

"That one's too _loud_," Wikus retorted firmly.

"No kidding! That's what attracts the fish! Here, give it..." Without waiting for an acquiescence, the hefty worker snatched the retriever from his friend and recalled the ineffective lure, which he tossed carelessly into the box. With a flick of his thumb, the choice replacement was activated and a painful screech buffeted the calm of dusk. Even after Brutus had flung the squawking lure into the lake, the auditory discomfort seemed hardly lessened and Wikus shoved his fingers into his ears with a grimace.

As much as the human hated to admit it, his obnoxious friend was right. No sooner had the lure surfaced than several large forms could be seen sliding through the water below it, inching closer to inspect the disturbance.

"**See?**" Brutus shouted.

"_**What?**_"

The drone gave his alien brother an annoyed shove and readied the gun. Several seconds later the lure was snapped up, the noise ceased and a static jolt sent ripples racing out from the epicenter. A huge, pallid shape thrashed the surface a few times, then fell still. Brutus sent the recall line out and presto, dinner was caught. The entire affair, in truth, was utterly superfluous. Even when fresh foods ran out in their home, which rarely happened, they were equipped with a proficient replicator to whip up whatever one craved. It was plain to see that not a single resident of their household missed any meals. Yet there was something satisfying about the interplay of predator and prey, an instinct to hunt that both species understood well, even if the event itself was less than exhilarating.

Brutus hauled the creature onto the shore and brusquely removed the cable and its lure, leaving the actual gutting to Wikus. It was a large "Bokwae", an animal that resembled a thick eel in its body with the head of an angler fish. Its oversized jaws were loaded with long, spiny teeth, thankfully disabled, and it had grotesque, cloudy eyes that seemed just a bit too large for its head. To an Earthling, it wouldn't appear appetizing in the least, but Wikus knew better. When properly prepared, the meat of the Bokwae was succulent and richly flavorful, if a little chewy.

As he worked to remove the innards, flocks of winged scavengers began to amass nearby, waiting for an easy meal. Roly evidently found the whole business in very poor taste and directed a scolding gurgle at Wikus before curling himself up and rolling to the house after Brutus. Undeterred, Wikus continued his messy task; they would eat particularly well tonight.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Wikus Makes a Decision**

Night had fallen over Oolund but Wikus and his family were happily enveloped in the little bubble of warmth and light their living room supplied. The logy human had stretched himself out on the padded bench that ran along the wall, resting an overly full stomach. The kitchen's cooking appliances made meal time a cinch; each device was so accurate that it could detect what type of food you put in it, then choose the correct method and amount of time to cook it. Even someone with no culinary prowess like Wikus could prepare a tasty meal. And yet, there was something about the way Yeen did it that made everything taste so much _better_.

The soft-spoken green drone sat on the floor beside his Sugati, playing a game with the children while Tookanuk and Hlu found cozy spots of their own to curl up in. The serenity of late evening would have been enough to send the human off to sleep where he lay was it not being wrenched apart by the customary squabbling of Brutus and Lek. The pair were, in actuality, every bit as close as Wikus was to Yeen, but they were a couple that seemed to thrive on animosity. They'd been together since they were children and yet each was too stubborn to call the other "Sugati". Instead, they rolled through a perpetual cycle of Brutus's stupidity and Lek's intolerance of it.

"LET GO!"

"You let go! It's my turn to pick!"

"Who says?"

"You picked last time!"

"But you _always_ pick something stupid!" Brutus groused, attempting to pry the data port's remote out of Lek's tight grip. "I want to watch the Torona fights!"

"So watch it upstairs on your OWN port!" Lek growled back, refusing to budge.

"It's too small! I want to see them on...the...big monitorGIVE ME THAT!"

Yeen flicked his antennae in annoyance at the inevitable string of profanity that followed, but it was clever Tookanuk that resolved the issue.

"Fight's postponed anyway," he lied with a yawn, knowing Brutus's attention span was far too short to permit the ebony drone to check up on it.

"_What?_" Brutus whined, releasing Lek's arm. "Why?"

"Something about a contract that didn't get renewed in time..."

"Ohfp! That _sucks_..."

"Times are tough all over..." Lek grumbled as he resumed searching for something interesting to watch.

Wikus observed the entire interplay lazily, gazing at the monitor with half-lidded eyes as Lek flipped from one channel to the next. And then, a news broadcast passed by momentarily and something in it snapped him back to consciousness. "Hey! Go back a minute!"

"For what?" Lek puzzled, and began to retrace the channels he'd surfed.

Wikus shoved himself upright and scrutinized the visual information parading by. "There! Stop!...Now, back it up a few seconds..."

"What is it?" Yeen asked.

"The Majhatugha Honorary Ceremony, looks like..." Lek replied, still confused as to why it should be significant of anything.

Wikus stood without rejoinder and squinted at the frozen image on the monitor. The lanky, camel-rabbit aliens that had plagued his memories for the past three years stood regally in all their royal finery, in the midst of some sort of ritual honoring one of their own. Amongst the grouping of the most significant individuals sat a smaller Majhatughan, wrapped in the same green silks as the human woman Wikus could not shake from his thoughts. He drew closer, inspecting its face, his heart thumping in his ears.

"S'wrong with you?" Brutus blurted grumpily, still sore over losing possession of the television.

"_That's __**her**__!_" Wikus cried, turning to a room full of perplexed faces and jabbing a finger at the still frame.

"_Who?_" Brutus asked for the rest of them.

"The one I saw! On Keehar! I'd recognize her _anywhere_!"

"You said you saw a human on Keehar..." Lek responded slowly.

"He did," Yeen added, his concern growing with his partner's enthusiasm.

"Right!"

"Well that's not a human," Brutus pointed out sardonically. "You think I'm stupid."

"No, no, look...look at her eyes, they're different..." Wikus leaned toward the screen and gestured at the face of the smallest royal.

"That's Princess Abayomi," Yeen explained, leaning sideways to see around the man's body. "The only daughter of Liina and Posacam. Her family line has ruled over the Western hemisphere of Maj for thousands of years. That's not the person you saw, she's just wearing a similar costume..."

"She's wearing a **disguise**!" Wikus interjected strongly.

"I know how badly you want to find her," Yeen soothed, "but you're letting your imagination rule your judgment. We talked about that..."

"Yeah," Wikus sighed. "I know."

"Good! Can we watch something now? Anything?" Brutus interrupted testily, ignoring the smack he earned from Lek.

"Yeah, go on. I think I'll turn in early anyway. Let's go, you." With a grunt, Wikus stooped to heft his pet into his arms. Roly couldn't climb the ladder to the second floor and depended on someone to take him there and back.

The man bid his family a weary "good night" and Yeen watched him ascend the ladder with increasing trepidation. It definitely wasn't in Wikus's character to give up an argument so quickly; they hadn't heard the last of this one.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, after the house was still and each person in it was tucked inside his own bed, Yeen left his room and quietly pulled Wikus's door open. As he expected, the man was wide awake, propped up on his cushions and pelts, his face illuminated by the data port sitting on his chest. He'd called up the news broadcast and was scanning the footage of interest one frame at a time, face contorted in concentration. Yeen entered with a huff and closed the door behind him.<p>

"I knew you'd be awake."

"Hm."

"You shouldn't dwell on this," the worker reminded him, carefully overstepping the human's form to lay down in the bed between Wikus and the wall. "You know I trust in your instincts, but this...it's..."

"Crazy. I know."

"Impossible. I remember when she was born," Yeen recalled, looking at the footage of Abayomi along with Wikus. "It was a big deal to them, she's the only female child. It was shortly before we left on that mining expedition...the one that went so wrong..."

"_Something's_ up with her, man."

"They're our _allies_, Wikus. They use our technology, we use their textiles, their spices; they don't even have their own army. _We_ protect them. There are poleepkwan soldiers in that palace right now, as we speak. If they had a human, we'd know. And Ruwala would tell you, he'd never keep something like that from you."

"I know..."

"Then how can you let yourself believe something so-"

"**Because!**"

"'Because' what? I know you miss your people and you're desperate to make a connection with them again. Believe me, I know how that feels. But you can't make something out of nothing."

Wikus sat quietly for a moment, disheartened, gazing at the portable monitor until eventually, he opted to shut it down.

"I'm sure you'll find your answers someday," Yeen said gently, "but in the meantime, you have a family here that loves you."

"I do, don't I?" Wikus smiled, finally meeting his partner's kind eyes.

"Indeed. And it's been a while since you and I spent any time together..."

"Why do you always use that to distract me?" Wikus interrupted, feigning annoyance.

"Because it always works," Yeen grinned back.

"Hmf. You just said it was love...what's to keep me thinking you only do it to shut me up?"

"Well," Yeen replied warmly, taking the port from Wikus and returning it to its wall receptacle, "let me _show_ you."

* * *

><p>The week that followed Wikus's strange outburst could only be described as ordinary. He made no further mention of <em>anything<em> relative to the Majhatughans and most of the household forgot all about it. Yeen, however, was not so readily convinced that his human had had a change of heart. No matter how independent and strong Wikus might become, the green drone would always consider him his responsibility, just like Joji would always be his son. So he kept a close eye and ear on the man, and Wikus was acutely aware that he was being studied. For a week, the two played an unspoken game of espionage, neither one entirely certain who was winning.

And then, on the final day of the week, a significant move was made. It was typical for the three parents and Wikus to assemble at Exit 3 before they left work to pick up the children. But today, Yeen was dismayed when he reached the meeting place to find the group one member short. Even before he could look into the matter, he knew something was wrong.

"Where's Wikus?" Yeen asked warily.

"Don't know," Hlu shrugged, "haven't seen him in hours."

The green worker didn't waste any time on a visual scan of the area; he knew the man wouldn't be nearby. "Do me a favor...pick up Joji for me. I'll be home a little later..." And he trotted back inside the factory, leaving a perplexed pair of drones behind.

Yeen wove in and out of the throng of night shift workers filing through the complex towards their respective positions until he found Po, the assistant foreman. "Sir!" he clicked hastily, "Did you see Wikus before he left today?"

Po gradually turned to face his lead engineer, his attention absorbed in the typical shift-change red tape. "Hm? Yes, of course..."

"W...how _recently_?"

"Ah. He left hours ago. After he finished replacing the lift gaskets. Said he had something important to take care of at home."

"And you _let_ him _go_?" Yeen exclaimed in a tone he wouldn't normally have taken with a superior.

Po lifted his brow in surprise at this uncharacteristic outburst. "Was he not allowed to leave?"

"...I'm sorry Sir, excuse me!" Yeen sputtered and took off at a jog without any further explanation. Whatever his partner was up to, he had a long head start. He desperately hoped he'd find Wikus at home and out of trouble, but he wasn't going to waste any time getting there. Yeen sprinted to the train station and just made it on board the express heading south.

* * *

><p>When the transport reached his stop, Yeen was surprised to find that he recognized another passenger among the departing.<p>

"HEY! Green!" Brutus called from a few yards away. "What're you doing here? Why aren't you picking up your kid?"

"The others're getting him," Yeen explained hastily. "I have to get home..."

"Why?" Brutus wondered, but his housemate was already running down the well-worn dirt road towards home. Irrepressibly intrigued, the big drone set off after him.

They reached their front door nearly together, but the heftier poleepkwa was considerably shorter of breath. "_Wikus!_" Yeen called, inspecting the first floor in vain. There was no response but for Brutus's labored breathing.

"Wouldn't he...uhf...why isn't he...with...you?"

"Po said he came home early..._Wikus!_"

"Wh...why?"

"I don't _know_," Yeen huffed, looking this way and that through the back window. "The Fescalt's still here..."

"Well...there's a text message for you...on the comm dock..."

Yeen turned from the window but remained rooted to the spot, and the pair panted in silence for a moment.

"Well?" Brutus prodded. "Aren't you going to read it?"

An uneasy feeling gathering in his stomach, Yeen slowly approached the house's communication center and opened the file that would only respond to his own touch. Curious, Brutus read over his shoulder.

**"Chris,**

**Knocked off early, taking a little trip to Maj. Don't worry about me, I just want to ask some questions. I'm not going to start any trouble. Please don't come after me, I'll be back in a couple weeks.**

**Love you, and the Fam - Wikus**

**Also, please make sure someone feeds Roly"**

"_Maj_? What th'hell's he going there for?" Brutus thought out loud.

"The _woman_, Brutus!" Yeen growled in frustration, shoving the drone aside and heading towards the stairs.

"Okay!" Brutus pouted. "What are _you_ so upset about?"

Yeen turned to face his friend. "I have to go after him. I'm going to pack, listen...I need for you to tell everyone what's happened. You have to file an absentee report with Po or Lona for both of us, and I need you to feed Roly one cup of Pellet every day. Can you do all of that for me?"

"Well...yeah. I will. But, what's the big deal? Maj isn't a dangerous planet..."

Brutus was displeased when he didn't get an answer, but Yeen wasn't in the mood to force his worries through the meat cutter's thick skull. He hurried upstairs and tossed aside his work satchel, fetching a carryall instead to hold his few necessities. Brutus was right, Maj wasn't anything like Keehar. There would be plenty of poleepkwan soldiers there...but something told him the human was poking at an animal that might turn out to be venomous after all. He didn't blame the Earthling for being tenacious; instead, his fear seemed rooted in his own insecurities. The entire household inherently regarded him as their head, the most intelligent and responsible, the one everyone could lean upon. Yeen was desperately afraid that he wouldn't live up to their expectations.

* * *

><p>On board a shuttle bound for the planet Maj, Wikus lay curled up in a room that was more of a closet than a cabin. Evidently space was at a premium on these vessels. There was scarcely enough floor room to turn around, with a compact bunk taking up one side of the room. The other side featured a toilet, otherwise known as the hole in the floor, a replicator with a limited menu and a tiny table and bench bolted to the wall. There wasn't a window, or a data port, or even any color painted on the walls. Everything was gray. Wikus had made it a point to pack light and that left him with little to occupy himself on the four day trip.<p>

He was also without his pelts and the bunk on which he lay offered only a firm plastic pad for comfort. So he bundled himself in his jacket, used his duffle as a pillow and lay quietly with his thoughts. In spite of everything, he couldn't help but feel excited. Within a few days he might have answers to the questions he'd labored over for three years; maybe even a new human friend. Not that there was anything lacking in his current relationships, but wouldn't it be wonderful to speak with someone who knew what he was going through? Of course, Guilt was there as well, poking him in the back of the brain with a sharpened stick. Yeen was likely a very unhappy person right now. Wikus couldn't deny that he'd had some pretty bad luck with adventures in the past. But there would always be time to smooth it over later, once he could show his Sugati that his hunch was right. _If_ his hunch was right...


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**The Palace of Posacam**

Once again setting foot on a new world, Wikus enjoyed a good, long stretch in the warmth of a typical Maj afternoon. It felt splendid to be out of that chilly, shipping crate of a cabin after four days in transit; even better to be so close to his goal.

The Western Continent was a hot, arid place made up of wind-scoured rock and short, tough scrub plants. But the Capitol made no notice of the hostile environment and what Wikus saw before him was a thriving expanse of markets and homes. It was a peculiar, eclectic style of habitation, its skeleton composed of familiar poleepkwan technology with a veneer of ornate decoration. There were no skyscrapers but plenty of traffic in the air and on the ground. Tapestries and lanterns seemed to be a favorite marker, and the people themselves were also dressed colorful and showy. Everywhere vendors sold jewelry, scarves, furnishings and exotic animals. And speckled here and there, Wikus saw the comparatively plain features of poleepkwa, both soldier and drone alike, tending to their daily tasks.

Wikus was feeling tremendously pleased with himself as he strolled out of the shuttle port and into the crowd. He'd taken a trip from one planet to another entirely on his own, something that would have been impossible even a year ago. He'd made it to his desired destination, and thanks to Haltherian subtitles on all the main signage, he knew precisely where he was headed. After a quick stop to sample the local fare, he climbed aboard a crowded city transport headed for the Palace. The strange, furless alien garnered more than a few curious glances, yet no one engaged or dismissed him. He knew the next step would not be quite so effortless.

Eventually, the bus dropped him off in view of the West Palace. Had he not done a bit of research before he left, Wikus might have thought the stop was labeled erroneously. The structure itself was not visible to the public, but sat safely incased in a huge stone cover, like a bagel under an overturned cereal bowl. The capsule was engineered to look natural, if not oddly symmetrical, and could have been mistaken for a solid hill of weather-smoothed rock. Beneath it, the Palace did not exceed three stories, but its layout was a sprawling Celtic Knot of corridors, chambers and grand halls.

The structure had four entrances, one at each marker on the compass, and Wikus was facing the largest. This front door was busy, a fairly constant stream of pedestrians and vehicles passing through the poleepkwan-manned checkpoint, moving in and out of the gateway. This was definitely not the way to go.

So the Earthling marched onward, making his way around to the side entrance. When it came into view, he sat himself down under a beverage tent, pretending to rest from the sun, and watched. There was only a single guard at this gate, and he didn't appear to have much to do. The soldier was a typical poleepkwan warrior: huge, gray, intimidating. He wore bands of violet and gold about his limbs, with matching insignia painted neatly on his thorax and neck, branding him as a Royal guard. He also carried a serious weapon but it seemed unlikely he ever used it. Very few visitors approached, none of them hostile.

Wikus sat for a quarter of an hour, telling himself he was waiting for the right time and not that he needed to work up his courage. Even if he couldn't gain entrance, what was the worst that could happen? He'd be sent away...they certainly wouldn't lock him up just for _asking_. Then he'd have to go home and explain to Yeen why he'd made him worry for nothing...

"Well," Wikus muttered, getting to his feet at last, "let's do it."

Not surprisingly, the guard saw him coming and watched the man's approach with interest. As he drew close, Wikus waved and smiled as congenially as he could. "Hello! My name's-"

"Wikus of Earth. I know of you," the soldier replied, looking down on the human with an even expression.

"Oh! Well, good, I won't have to explain all that, eh?"

"What brings you to the Palace of Posacam?"

"Right. Well Sir, I need to speak with Princess Abayomi, you see..."

"I was not informed of your appointment."

"No...ah, I don't have one. I didn't know the formal procedure to get one, but it's very important that I meet with her...see, I ran into her a while back but we didn't get the chance to talk then, and I have some questions, that's all."

"You'll need to make an appointment, then."

Wikus rubbed at the back of his neck as he scanned his brain for a solution. He wasn't accustomed to _this_ side of the bureaucrat's legislation. "I would...but I haven't got much time. I had to leave work, and I came all the way from Patakatifu...I just need a few minutes, then I'll be on my way..."

As the soldier considered this, his large eyes wandered down to the glowing violet flame hanging on its sparkling chain, just as Wikus had hoped. The Ulu Mahan was a rare but universally respected symbol for poleepkwa, and it offered its recipient widespread benefits. Wikus was never permitted to pay his bill when he ate at a poleepkwan restaurant; he hadn't been charged for the ride to Maj. Once, a shopkeeper had tried to send him home with a flock of boisterous bird-like pets simply because he'd been admiring them. Fortunately, Wikus wasn't the sort of person who would take advantage of this outpouring; it usually made him a little uncomfortable, in fact. But the success of this half-baked mission hinged entirely on today's single exception.

"I'm not armed," Wikus offered, holding his arms out wide, "feel free to check."

The guard fidgeted his antennae as he considered the alien before him, then made his decision. "That won't be necessary. You may enter, but I will log it in the visitor's register."

"Of course! I'll be quick, I promise you."

The warrior stepped aside and opened the heavy entrance door for the unannounced guest. "After you enter the Palace, go forward six doors. Then turn to your right and follow the corridor. Abayomi's quarters will be framed in white."

"Yessir. Thank you!" Wikus bowed slightly and hustled inside, eager to get moving before anyone else turned up.

Inside the stone encasement, the atmosphere was not at all what one would expect, in that it didn't appear to be _inside_ anything. Wikus noted the same illusion he'd seen in Ruwala's chambers covering the entire massive ceiling of the dome; seamless screens that projected a bright blue sky overhead. It was probable that it wasn't a recording and he was seeing a broadcast of the actual sky outside. The trick was entirely convincing; anyone would have mistaken it for the real thing if he didn't know better.

It wasn't the sight he'd come to see, however, and Wikus walked as quickly as he could down the entrance path while still trying to appear nonchalant, should anyone be watching. As he approached the Palace door, it slid aside for him, then slid shut once he entered, sealing out the afternoon sun and white noise of the Capitol.

The foyer in which he found himself was surprisingly dark and sparse, not to mention quiet. A round, stained glass window above cast a colorful puddle of light on the floor where he stood, but it was the only light of any real use. The hall arced off in either direction, tunneling away into obscurity. There was only one door ahead, a sturdy, darkly stained work of art. It resembled polished walnut, covered in extravagant carvings that looped and flowed toward its centerpiece. This focal point was an opaque chunk of glass that appeared to be lit from behind, or perhaps, emitting its own glow in an entrancing aquamarine hue.

"Okay," Wikus thought out loud, "six doors forward. How do I..." He looked over the door closely, but there was no handle or hinge of any kind. It wasn't until he inadvertently placed a hand against it that it opened inward for him in a fluid and silent sweep.

The next hallway he entered was very much the same as the first, but even more dimly lit. It, too, didn't seem to have anything in it, and led away to the left and right towards who-knew-what. The only help his human eyes received came from more of the glass ornaments along the walls, leaking soft and meager halos of greenish blue down each path. "These guys must have pretty good eyesight," Wikus mumbled and he moved cautiously through the next door as well.

After he'd passed through the sixth, he turned right and followed the corridor uneasily. He knew, if he needed to make a hasty escape, trying to find the correct door in this darkness would probably be his undoing. Even the glimmering Ulu Mahan didn't contribute enough additional light to make navigation much easier. Wikus walked for what seemed like far too long without seeing anything like a door framed in white. He was beginning to think he'd miscounted when a small blip of light appeared far down the hall. Squinting, he hurried toward it, hoping it wasn't an anomaly in his eyesight, and at last, Wikus knew he was in the right place.

A circle of white lights in the ceiling cast a luminous oasis outside the chambers of Princess Abayomi. Her door was structured the same as the rest, though its glass was lit in a rich violet. Twisting bundles of pure white carvings framed the door just as the guard had described, and these met similarly ornate alabaster benches on either side.

His heart thumping, Wikus plopped his duffle bag on one of the benches, then made some attempt to straighten his clothes and hair. With a deep breath, he rapped on the door and stepped back a pace, waiting for whatever might greet him.

After half a minute of silence, Wikus ventured another knock, and waited again. Still nothing. Although he was quite sure it would be locked, he took a shot and pressed a hand against the wood. Quietly it swung open and he was met by a subtle but unmistakable fragrance of incense, or perfume, possibly both. From what he could see through the gap, the chamber within was brighter than the halls had been, but still intimately lit. Could she be asleep? Or not at home?

Wikus gingerly pushed the door open further and, against his best judgment, let himself in. "Helloooo?" he called in his best Haltherian. There was no response and no one to be seen, but the allure of the princess's quarters were enough to satiate his curiosity for the moment. It was a cozy space, not very wide but it seemed to go back quite a way. The light was provided by numerous colored lanterns hanging from the ceiling, interspersed with a wide variety of elegant tapestries and hanging silks. To the left, a huge bed or couch sat against the wall, draped in fancy, tasseled coverings and cushions. It seemed much too large to suit a human; the flat of it must have been 10 feet long before it curved up at its ends like a sleigh. Further back, a desk and some cubbies could be seen laden with interesting trappings and instruments.

And to his right, a sparkle caught Wikus's eye, begging to be inspected. In the corner, a cavalcade of thin cords hung from the ceiling in ascending lengths, each one ending with a curious little stone. Wikus drew close for a careful look; they resembled smooth bits of quartz shaped like tear drops, each about the size of the end of his thumb, but with an unnatural glint. The plush cushioned chair underneath the arrangement told him this was more than just eye candy. He reached up and faintly touched a finger to one of the stones and it sang out a single, melodious chord.

"Oh!" Wikus uttered in surprise, stumbling back a step.

The cheery note had no sooner faded than an unmistakably feminine voice called from somewhere in the back. "Allu...mahthi li mas?"

Wikus recognized the words as Majhatughan, though he didn't understand their meaning. He felt the urge to flee, but this is what he'd come for and he wasn't about to leave without some kind of resolution. So he held his hands together and waited for the resident to confront him.

When the voice didn't receive a response, soft footsteps drew near, and then Abayomi materialized from the shadows, pushing the iridescent hangings out of her way. She stopped short as soon as she caught site of her visitor and the pair stared at each other with wide eyes and slack jaws.

Princess Abayomi was every bit as human as the woman Wikus had first seen, and even more lovely. The gentle colors of the lanterns cast a soft illumination on her deep sepia skin. Her waist-long hair was neatly twisted into uniform dreadlocks and tied behind her head with ropings of gold hung with little gems. Similar jewelry adorned her ears, neck and arms as well as the assortment of green silks she wore around her body. They began with a pale grass at her chest and gradated down to a deep emerald around her legs.

"**I **_**knew**_** it!**" Wikus exclaimed, his shock morphing into elation.

For whatever reason, he spoke those three words in English, and was completely flabbergasted to hear her respond in the very same language. "What are you doing in here? You have **no** business- you're going _right back_ the way you came!"

Before Wikus could even grasp what she'd said, Abayomi marched over to him, wrenched him roughly by the arm and began leading him through the room. She took an abrupt turn and dragged him through a side door into another dark hallway.

"W-wait, I'm here to-"

"Enough! I won't hear it! I don't know _how_ you managed this..."

"I can explain!"

"Quiet!" she barked, keeping a swift pace, her slender fingers digging into his bicep. The princess ducked through one door, then another, taking a path Wikus couldn't hope to retrace.

His chances of making it back out quickly, as he'd promised the guard, seemed dismal now and he couldn't guess what he ought to do. She wouldn't even let him get a word in edgewise. It was as if he were tumbling down a steep hill, desperately wanting to stop and right himself, but he was so confused and disoriented that all he could do was wait until he reached the bottom.

At last Abayomi stopped in front of a door that was different from the rest. It was more mechanical, lacking in style and grace, and evidently locked. The princess tapped at a keypad of some sort, still maintaining a death grip on Wikus's arm, and after a finger scan the access panel unlocked the door for her. She yanked the baffled man into an empty alcove with her where they faced yet another entranceway. These double doors, though, were glass and Wikus could see whites and greens beyond. He made one more attempt at open dialogue but without a further word Abayomi shoved him out of one of the glass doors, then pulled it shut on him.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A False Oasis**

Within a very short span of time, Wikus had ricocheted through trepidation, excitement, confusion, frustration, and more confusion. Now, all of it was temporarily forgotten as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Stretched out before him was a massive expanse of green countryside, enfolded in tangled bands of fog. The air was cool and humid; the light, blue and feeble, as though dawn had just broken. Up above, Wikus could only see more white, the very convincing clouded atmosphere sending its haze low to mix with the fog banks. Through the sheets of mist, he could make out wide pastures carpeting gentle slopes, each bordered with neat rows of hedges or low stone walls. And further out, he was almost certain he noted the silhouette of a house or two. It could have been mistaken for any sampling of rural Britain, the illusion was so complete.

"This...is one _hell_ of a hologram..." Wikus muttered, stupefied. What was so baffling about the scene was that he simply couldn't tell where the enclosure ended. It seemed the only way to achieve such an effect would be to encapsulate the entire area in screens, but they were absolutely undetectable. What was more, the place had a very real feel of the outdoors, down to the occasional gentle breeze. Even if he _could_ put the pieces of this magnificent feat of engineering together, the weighty question of "why" would still evade him. Thoughts of zoos and game preserves wandered through his imagination, which only led to the crippling recollections of MNU's underground lab. Perhaps this was Fate's way of having the last laugh.

Wikus bent down and ran a hand along the ground, his vivid memories of dewy green grass brought to life in front of him. He plucked a few blades, twisted them between his fingers, sniffed and even tasted them. It surely did appear to be the real deal. How could it be...unless the Majhatughans had been to Earth...or the poleepkwa were keeping secrets from him.

Unwilling to indulge the possibility of a poleepkwan conspiracy theory, Wikus stood again and turned to face the reflection of the misplaced and bewildered man in the glass doors. Beyond them now there was only blackness, no hint whatsoever of the airlock he'd just exited. But it seemed that was intentional, as there was no sign of the Palace, either. The double doors were framed in an unassuming brick structure, its design very reminiscent of any Earth building constructed within the past 50 years. It was a single story, didn't appear to cover a great deal of ground space, and above the doors a worn sign read "Offices of Water and Power". Wikus set off around the building's perimeter, feeling the aged brick with his hand. He was certain he'd eventually smack into whatever was concealing the Palace, but much to his surprise he was able to walk around the entire structure, stopping just where he'd started.

"The _fook_..." Wikus whispered to himself. Even though he knew it was of no recourse, he pulled on the door handles firmly. They were locked tight; the doors didn't even rattle in their frames. Turning to his comm watch, the human was relieved to see it flicker on, regardless of the fact that no one was within hailing distance. "At least this won't be exactly like Keehar..." Wikus sighed.

Knowing he wouldn't find any answers where he stood, Wikus peered out over the fields again. A shabby cobblestone path led out on the right, where it joined up with a well-worn dirt road. The road meandered up behind the "office" building and into some rougher, wooded terrain and in the opposite direction, down towards the supposed houses. The choice seemed simple. Wikus tucked his necklace into his shirt, then pulled off his watch and stuffed that into a pocket. He couldn't guess what type of humans lived in this place, or even whether they understood that they were existing off-world at all, but he felt it best to appear as inconspicuous as possible.

As he made his way along the road, he was certain he could hear the sound of bleating sheep, and the occasional chirp of birds. Sure enough, amongst the fog, Wikus could see fluffy little dots clumped together, though he was too far away to decide if they were true immigrants of Earth or just a decent facsimile. Eventually, the square shapes of buildings morphed into view, completely in place in this out-of-place world.

The farm by the side of the road featured a lovely two-story house built of stone and painted white, with a tidy shingled roof and window boxes full of herbs and sleeping flowers. It had a sizable yard, and the pathways looked to be recently trodden. A waist-high stone wall surrounded it, with a wooden gate at the front. Beyond, a well maintained barn stood watch over the scene, partially muffling an occasional cluck or moo.

Wikus stopped at the gate, furrowing his brow. There was a light on in the window, wisps of smoke piping from the chimney above...he was indeed eager to meet these people, yet indecisive as to how he should go about it. As he listened in the morning stillness, he could hear clinking of dishes and periodic running water; the sounds of breakfast.

Before the stray Earthling could come to a decision, a man rounded the corner of the house, his arms laden with a shovel and a pail. He was decidedly human, Caucasian, probably in his 40's, with a neatly trimmed beard and rust-colored hair. He wore a wool jacket, a cap and muddy rubber boots, every bit a farmer. He glanced up and both men shuddered in surprise.

" Howyiz?" the man offered cheerfully.

Wikus stammered as the wheels of his mind struggled to start up again, but didn't manage to emit anything of any intelligence.

"Not from around here, eh?" grinned the farmer.

"I...no, I don't...think so..."

"Name's Owen. Owen Brennan," he announced, setting his tools down alongside the wall and offering an open hand.

Wikus shook it warily, as if he didn't believe it could be real. Neglecting to reply with his own introduction, he couldn't resist venturing the question, "Would you...can you tell me...where I am?"

"Where ya are? How can y'not know, lad?"

"I don't know, I...I'm having trouble remembering anything." _Of course, that makes perfect sense! If I play the amnesia card, I can ask any stupid question I want and it won't seem suspicious Wikus you're a genius!_

It seemed to do the trick, Owen's outgoing grin faded slightly and he took on an empathetic expression. "Ah...I see. That's no good...well, you're about two miles outside Dublin."

"Dublin..._Ireland_?"

"Of course! Is there any other?"

"...Huh..." Wikus ruminated over that for a moment before his new friend expanded upon his hospitality.

"Why don't you come inside for a bit, the wife's making breakfast," Owen proposed as he opened the gate. "Don't suppose you've got a name, have you?"

"Yeah...I probably do," Wikus chuckled sheepishly as he entered the yard, " I just..."

"No matter. We'll figure it out."

As the pair entered the side door, Wikus reveled in the warmth of the cozy kitchen. Though he'd never visited the Ireland of Earth, he was certain this was indiscernible from a typical traditional household, but with some upgraded appliances. Even so, none of it looked poleepkwan, or alien in any way. A fire crackled in the hearth, the floors were wooden, though well kept, and the countertops made of slate. But there was also a fairly modern looking refrigerator, and an oven, along with a few standard gadgets here and there. Perhaps most enticing was the savory aroma of some kind of meat on its way to becoming a meal.

"This is Moira," Owen stated, placing a loving hand upon the shoulder of a chestnut-haired woman in an apron. "Dear, I found this fellow passing by...lost his memory, it seems, and his way."

Wikus waved a modest greeting at her as she wiped her hands in her smock. "How awful! Please, make yourself at home here, we'll be having breakfast very soon. In the meantime, let me get some tea..."

"Thank you!" Wikus replied with genuine gratitude. "Would you mind if I washed my hands first?"

"Certainly!" she piped, gesturing at the kitchen sink.

Wikus stole a few seconds to look over the sink as he approached it, hoping it wouldn't appear too odd to his hosts. It shouldn't have been anything extraordinary, but for the fact that he hadn't laid eyes on such a setup in years. He turned the tap...plain old faucet, plain old bar soap, plain old ceramic basins, plain old cotton towels. And in the left basin, a steel colander held freshly washed potatoes, carrots and onions. He could smell them, even over the fragrance of frying sausages, and he dearly wanted to pick them up, to turn them over in his own human hands. Wikus wondered if Yeen and Joji had ever had the occasion to taste onions. He wanted to bring some of these foods home to them; the trick now would be finding his way back.

Wikus sat at the unpretentious wooden table with the couple, where a mug of tea had been placed for him. "Thank you...very much," he sighed, cradling the mug in his hands while he waited for the tea to cool a bit.

"Don't mention it," Owen replied, leaning back in his chair. "So. How do you suppose this happened? The memory loss? Any clue?"

"Mm...not really. But maybe...I think it might have had something to do with that brick building up on the hill. What is that?"

"The old utilities office? It was just an administrative center for the water and electric companies, but it's been closed for years."

"Do you ever see anyone coming in or out?" Wikus puzzled.

"Can't say that we do. 'Course, I don't pay much attention to it."

"Perhaps you hit your head on it?" Moira ventured.

"Moira!"

"Well! Isn't that how people get amnesia? They hit their heads..." she argued, taking a playful swipe at her husband's arm.

Owen rolled his eyes at her and Wikus couldn't help but laugh. "Nah, I don't think it's a concussion," he smiled, running his hand through his hair. "At least, everything seems like it's in one piece."

"That accent," Moira continued, a sudden realization lighting her eyes, "it's South African, isn't it?"

"Is it?" Wikus pretended to wonder, taken aback by her recognition.

"I thought so, too," Owen added. "Pretty familiar one, these days..."

"Why 'these days'?" Wikus asked, now completely thrown.

"Well, considering everything that's happened there the past few decades."

"Oh, you _must_ remember those creatures!" Moira leaned towards the baffled man, her eyes wide and intense.

"Creatures?"

Owen cocked his head to the side, as if he couldn't possibly believe that anyone would forget such a thing, regardless of their mental state. "Aliens. Y'know, they came to Earth in a big flyin' saucer, thirty years ago. Big, buggy things," he explained, mimicking antennae with his fingers. "Sounds crazy, I know. But it was all the world could think about until they left. What'id they call 'em?"

"Prawns," Moira responded.

"Yeah, that's right! Prawns. That's what they looked like. That ring any bells?"

Wikus sat frozen and dumbfounded. He was doing an excellent job selling an air of disbelief, though his hosts would never guess at the true reason behind it. How could these people possibly know anything of Earth's current events?

"Maybe _they're_ responsible for your amnesia!" Moira suggested.

"That might actually make sense," Owen agreed, concentrating on the concept. "They were supposed to've had some pretty serious technology. You know, on the subject...you do look a _little_ familiar."

"I...do?" Wikus croaked.

"Mm-hm. Like...maybe you used to be on TV?"

Moira nodded in agreement and Wikus struggled to conceal his growing anxiety. He was certainly a stouter man than the desk jockey that MNU had so fervently slandered seven years ago, but it wasn't nearly enough weight to serve as an effective disguise. If these people recognized him, he wouldn't have the chance to wonder "how". His false reputation meant their warm welcome might turn very cold, very quickly.

Unfortunately, before Wikus could solidify a plan to lead them off the trail, the pieces of Owen's memories clicked into place. "**That's it!**" he roared, slamming his hands on the table with such ferocity it frightened a squeal from his wife and caused Wikus to fumble his mug, spilling hot tea over the table and onto the floor. "**Wikus! **_**You're**_** Wikus, the traitor! The one everyone was looking for!**"

Wikus and Moira were both torn between their reaction to Owen's outburst and the mess splattering on the floor. "Owen, please-I'll get a towel," Moira interrupted hastily as she got up from the table.

"I don't know _what_ you want with us," Owen growled, then swatted a hand in his wife's direction, "stay in the kitchen, Moira!"

"Wait!, It's-" Wikus attempted, but the other man was already on his feet. Owen plucked the iron poker from the hearth and Wikus's distress turned to panic. He jumped from his seat and lost his footing on the wet floor, tumbling over backwards along with the chair. Moira was nearly in tears now, towel in one hand and clutching her husband's sleeve with the other, pleading with him to change his mind. Traitor or not, she had no desire to see a man skewed alive on her kitchen floor.

As it happened, the decision would not be theirs to make. The kitchen door crashed open, prompting screams from all three of them. Four armed and uniformed men pushed through, weapons aimed. "Drop it!" the first commanded, and Owen threw the iron to the floor, placing himself between the men and his terrified wife.

Another trained his firearm on the hapless visitor. Still sprawled on his back, Wikus thrust his open hands above his head in submission, but it did him little good. A loud _pop_ split the chaos and Wikus shuddered, expecting to feel the sledgehammer of a bullet tear him apart. Instead, a familiar and unpleasant sting pierced his right pectoral. When he opened his eyes, he saw the bright, fluffy top of a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his chest, its powerful sedative already beginning to course through his veins. "_C'mon_ man," he groaned, "not _again_."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Recon**

Consciousness came slowly, in fitful bursts, welcoming the sort of headache that only follows sedation. Once awake, Wikus felt a good deal more pain than he remembered when he'd been darted. The elbow he'd smashed on the floor, that still hurt. But now, it seemed all of his joints and muscles had complaints of their own as he unfolded himself from a crumpled heap. He felt a particular twinge in his nose, and as he touched about his face his fingers disturbed warm, sticky blood already beginning to dry around his nostrils and in his moustache. He could only surmise he'd been treated roughly after he'd blacked out. Given the course of events he'd experienced, it seemed like a logical end to the day.

Once the logy Earthling decided nothing serious was broken, he turned his exploration to his surroundings. At first, he thought he might be at the bottom of some kind of well. The walls were featureless and unbroken, forming a concrete tube that topped off at least 20 feet above his head. Beneath him, the floor was shaped like a funnel, with a four inch opening in the center. The confining space was humid and grimy, with a pungent mix of unpleasant smells. Wikus attempted to stagger to his feet, but the steep incline beneath made it too awkward and he flumped back into an uncomfortable sitting position. As he craned his stiff neck to peer up at the opening, he could make out a faint blue haze covering it, punctuated by an occasional crackle of static electricity.

"Mnnf..." Wikus grunted, "...prison. Of course." Out of nothing more than the desire for _some_ kind of explanation, he shouted at the opening. "_**Hello?**_"

"Wikus?" came a muffled response in a familiar click that Wikus could not have been happier to hear.

"Chris? Is that you?"

"Yes. Are you hurt?"

"Not...really. Where _are_ you?"

"In a cell."

"_What?_ Oh for the love of..._how?_ Are you okay? What'd _you_ do?"

"I'm not injured. I didn't commit any violation, that I know of...I just came looking for you..."

"Ohhhh," Wikus moaned, rubbing his eyes wearily, "why, man? I asked you not to follow me..."

"I had to rescue you."

"Oh yeah? How's _that_ going?" Wikus was comforted to hear his partner's chirping laughter in the neighboring cell, even though it was momentary. "Well...what do we do now?"

"Nothing," Yeen explained, "I contacted General Tarzier before I left, he should be here by now-"

"**Tarzier?**" Wikus groused. "Is he the only soldier in the galaxy? Why'd it have to be _him_?"

"You know he has to be notified as soon as anything happens to either of us," Yeen responded calmly.

"Nothing's happened!"

"You're in a Majhatughan _prison_ cell, Wikus."

"Ohhh...he's gonna wring me out like a wet sponge..."

"No, not this time, I don't think..."

"Why?" Wikus sulked, his demeanor making it sound as though he were disappointed by this reassurance.

"Well-" Yeen stopped short, his voice replaced by the abrupt grinding of machinery. Wikus squawked in surprise as the funnel floor began to chug upwards, and he had to huddle in the center to keep himself from being sanded against the walls.

A few seconds later, with the electric field disabled, Wikus and Yeen found themselves at the top of their cells, blinking in the pallid light of the prison block. It was a tremendous expanse of a room, its floor occupied with thousands of similar wells. Narrow walkways formed a traversable grid in between them all.

Wikus's face lit up at the sight of his Sugati, though it was dampened quickly as he noted the observers nearby. A pair of Majhatughan prison officials stood close together, one holding a control pad; even though their bodies were very alien, a posture of submission and trepidation was clearly decipherable. _And_ understandable. Beside them towered the massive General Tarzier, his fiery eye especially luminous in the gloomy prison block. With him Wikus recognized the violet-clad Royal guard who had let him in, as well as an unmarked solider that must surely have arrived with the General. In his spiky arms he carried Wikus's duffle bag, comm link and thankfully, his and Yeen's confiscated Ulu Mahan adornments.

Oddly, the General did not appear the least bit angry; none of them did. Instead, their eyes held a serious but unidentifiable sentiment that left a queasy feeling in the pit of Wikus's stomach. It was the sort of feeling a person gets when he knows he's about to receive bad news, but it hasn't yet been vocalized.

Troubled by Wikus's blood-smeared face, the green worker didn't wait for official confirmation of their release before he hurried across the walkway to inspect his human's well-being for himself. Yeen cupped the man's face in his gentle hands, rubbing away some of the mess with his thumb. Exhausted, Wikus remained still and allowed the drone to fret over him a bit, enjoying the contact. "You said you were not hurt," Yeen reproached worriedly.

"Are you injured?" Tarzier asked.

"No, Sir, it's not...not serious. Just a bloody nose..."

"Very well. Captain, get them on board."

"Yessir," the third warrior replied, snapping into action. He handed over the pair's belongings and shepherded them away from the tense group. Wikus didn't have any idea where they were headed now, he was just grateful it was away from where he'd been.

* * *

><p>The Captain had led his charges to Tarzier's waiting command cruiser, a type of poleepkwan craft Wikus had never before encountered in person. It was no larger than the ferry that had brought him, but sleeker and very heavily armed. They passed through a cargo bay crammed with battle exosuits, just like the one Wikus had inadvertently destroyed on Earth. These machines were in mint condition, however, shiny and untarnished, awaiting their first chance at combat.<p>

The ship was carrying a small compliment, only six officers in addition to the General. One of which doubled as a skilled medic, and it was he who took over possession of the pair of civilians. In the cramped little med bay, Wikus stripped and subjected himself to a thorough examination. When no serious injuries were found on either detainee, the medic turned his attention to patching the human's few flesh wounds and cleaning away the spilled blood.

By the time Wikus was dressing again, Tarzier had returned, offering no clue as to what had transpired. He neglected to address the pair at all and seemed to inquire about them out of obligation rather than genuine concern. "Well?" the General grunted.

"Nothing serious, just a few superficial wounds, Sir," his medic replied.

"Good. Cabin 3," he ordered, then turned to his previous subordinate. "Captain, prepare to disembark."

"At once, Sir!" the waiting captain responded as he hurried towards the bridge ahead of his commander.

Now alone with the medic, Wikus opened his mouth as though he intended to make a firm point, but Yeen was quick to halt him. Before either of them could continue, the medic strode past them into the corridor. "Collect your things and follow me," he instructed, his tone suggesting that he would not tolerate dissention.

Duffle clutched to his chest, Wikus had to jog to keep pace with the huge soldier. The couple were dropped off in a passenger cabin, very similar to the sort Wikus had slept in on the way to Maj. This one was conformed the same, though it was slightly larger and much cleaner and brighter. Still, there were few amenities to comfort a human.

"Here is your room. The General would prefer it if you stayed here until we arrive at Nie," the medic instructed, and then he closed the hatch and left. It was clear to both of them that this was an order and not a suggestion. Wikus hardly had the gumption to do any more exploring, anyway.

Yeen sat quietly on the bunk, eyeing the sullen man and offering him the opportunity to speak first. Wikus took it without hesitation, tossing his bag to the floor and waving his hands in front of him. "_What_ is going on here? Am I _allowed_ to ask that?"

"I really don't know, Spucky."

"Of course you don't! Because _no one_ is telling us anything!"

"Just be grateful we're not being punished."

"Yeah," Wikus agreed testily, rubbing at his temples with the heels of his hands.

Yeen indicated the space beside him, inviting his partner to sit. Wikus consented, leaning into the drone's embrace. "So...where are we going? Nie? I don't remember what that is..."

"Nie is the planet closest to Maj," Yeen explained. "There is no indigenous life because the atmosphere is so thin, but there are poleepkwan stations there. I suspect we're going to see Commander Satu. He regulates all poleepkwan traffic on Maj."

"So, we _are_ in trouble."

"It really doesn't seem that way."

"Huh," Wikus mused wearily. "Hey, you never told me how _you_ got into the Palace?"

"Well, I told the guards I was looking for you and that General Tarzier was close behind me. That was all they needed to hear, one of them escorted me inside. But as soon as we were in, we met up with some more soldiers and a few Majhatughan Councilmen, and there was a lot of confusion...they gave their guards the order to arrest me and I was placed in a cell."

"Just like that. No explanation."

"None. I'm just glad to be with you again," the drone smiled.

"Yeah. Same here," Wikus agreed warmly, meeting Yeen's kind gaze. He reached up and ran a finger along the underside of the poleepkwa's bristly, shifting pedipalp. Those curious mouth-arms had always been a source of intrigue for the man, even when he'd had them himself. "You know, you don't _always_ have to worry about me."

"Of course I do. It's my job."

"Not anymore..."

"Always. I'll look after you until the day we die."

"Then will you keep a leash on me in the next life, too?"

"I'll have to. You can't be trusted on your own. And I certainly wouldn't want you getting some _other_ poor bastard into tight spots all the time."

Wikus grinned up at him playfully. "At least things stay interesting!"

"And then some. While we're on the subject, are you going to tell me what happened to you back there?"

"You don't know!"

"No, of course-"

"Oh, man, wait until you hear _this_!" Wikus exclaimed, his characteristic enthusiasm rekindling. "You know I hate to say 'I told you so' but..."

"_This_ is news," Yeen sighed.

"Yep. Sit tight, I got a whole box of 'I told you so's here for ya. You know, I might even make it into a song..."

"Terrific," Yeen countered sarcastically, "I love it when you gloat-sing."

"You know you do!" Wikus smirked.

At the very least, Yeen was relieved to see the Earthling in high spirits again, even if it meant sitting through some sanctimonious rigmarole. Thankfully, their destination was only a few hours away.

* * *

><p>The planet Nie was rather unimpressive, a polar opposite to the vibrancy of Maj. This globe was cold, barren and dark, but it did support life thanks to the poleepkwa's indomitable technology. Sizable habitation pods dotted the landscape, each one containing a fraction of Commander Satu's realm.<p>

The interiors of the encapsulated terminals were very similar to the decks of poleepkwan freighters. As he strolled through the command center with Yeen and the General, Wikus was reminded of the Fiordraa and Commander Ruwala's awe-inspiring office. He missed her dearly.

Tarzier stopped them at what appeared to be a central point in the headquarters and exchanged a few words with the warrior posted there. The guard set off at once and, several minutes later, returned with his Queen, Commander Satu. She bore so many similarities to Ruwala, yet Wikus could pick out the attributes that made her unique. Satu seemed older, more weathered somehow, but her carapace was a shimmering greenish-gold that was every bit as vivid and beautiful as Ruwala's. She looked upon the group with the same kind of multi-colored eyes, the same gentle hospitality, but her attitude was one of urgency and she wasted no time with chit-chat.

"It's an honor to have you all in my station," Satu said amiably, bowing to the trio, who returned the respectful gesture. "If you two would come with me," she continued, outstretching a bejeweled arm to Wikus and his guardian.

"Yes, sir," Wikus acquiesced with a deep breath. At least this time he wouldn't have to go alone. Yeen stayed close by his side while Satu lead the pair through a series of corridors.

The little room they arrived in was very reminiscent of a doctor's office to Wikus. It was a confusing muddle of instruments and equipment, not surprisingly, with a work station along the left wall. The right was occupied by a large table hooked into some sort of scanner at the rear of the room. Among the readers, cables and data ports, the scanning device plugged into an operator's chair, very much like the command center in a small ship's cockpit. Wikus didn't have to be told that the table was intended for him. The table was _always_ for him.

Satu sealed the door behind them and sat on one of the station's stools. "Please, sit," she gestured at the exam table. With a hesitant glance at Yeen, Wikus hopped onto the slab and tried to make himself comfortable. The worker's stalwart presence beside him helped a bit, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of being a specimen under the microscope.

"Now," Satu began, "when General Tarzier arrived to pick the two of you up, a Majhatughan prison regulator let slip a bit of information we don't believe he was supposed to divulge. They were quick to recant and we have little other data, but we think you might have passed through a Spatial Overlap Gateway. Do you know what that means?"

Yeen's eyes widened but Wikus could only shake his head blankly. "You see, sometimes a hole opens in the spatial plane, providing a shortcut from one place to another. These can occur at any time, in any place, connecting any two locations, but they are usually fleeting. We've developed a device to keep them open indefinitely, but the use of such technology is very strictly regulated, for obvious reasons. It is never permissible, for example, to maintain such a gate in secret, and that's what we suspect has happened here."

Wikus's face contorted in disbelief. "Now...wait a minute...you're telling me I was actually on _Earth_ yesterday? _My_ Earth?"

"I suspect so, yes. But we'll need to do a little introspection to be certain."

"Wait wait wait," Wikus backtracked, shaking his head," I thought, when you go through a wormhole...you know, there's supposed to be a tunnel of lights, you...zoom around through..." The human emulated a waving gesture with his arms, back and forth, garnering nothing but baffled head-cocks from both poleepkwa. "It's...that's the way it looks in the movies...what I'm trying to say...there was _nothing_. I mean, no difference between this side and that one, it was just like...walking through any old door..."

Satu looked to the green drone for some assistance, but he could only rebound with a confused shrug. "Well, I don't know anything about this...'movies'...but a Gateway is a joining of two places in space, there would be nothing to travel through," she explained.

"Okay, that works...but...what would they want with Earth?" Wikus frowned.

"That's why you're here. As you can imagine, we need answers as quickly as possible. If this is in fact the case, it has very serious implications for all three of our species."

"Well, I'll certainly tell you everything I know, Commander..."

"And normally, that would suffice, but you may have seen things that you don't know to be significant. I must ask you to submit to a memory scan," she said, pointing at the heap of machinery at the head of the table.

"You can...read my mind?"

"Not exactly. This machine will replay any visual and auditory information you received during your excursion, which will allow me to see it as you did. It can't read your thoughts...unless you speak them all out loud."

"Sometimes..."Yeen muttered.

"Hey!" Wikus shot the drone a pseudo-miffed look before he returned his attention to Satu. "Anything you need, Commander, just tell me what to do."

"Excellent. Please lie down on your back...your head sits in this receptacle..." Satu instructed, rising from her seat to begin turning on equipment.

"Okay..." Wikus grunted as he scooted to the head of the table. Cautiously he rested his head in the rigid cradle, eyeing the sinister looking halo that enclosed it. Some of the functionality he was familiar with, and not at all pleased to see. The memory scanner utilized a system just like an exosuit which literally, and painfully, plugged into the subject's brain. In order to operate the suits at OHSM, his superiors had developed a special crown adaptor for him that prevented the prongs from puncturing his flesh while still giving him control of the machine. Of course, OHSM and his adaptor were four days away. "Is...this going to hurt?" Wikus asked meekly.

"Yes. Very much," Satu replied honestly. "And unfortunately, it works much better if you are conscious and un-sedated. I'm going to administer a drug that will not lessen the pain, but stimulates neurotransmitters in your brain."

"Which means..."

"It will hurt, but you won't care," Yeen simplified.

"Well. Lekker. Let's get _that_ going," Wikus proposed as he offered his arm.

Commander Satu placed a dosing band around the human's bare wrist and hooked it up to a palm-sized canister of orange fluid. As soon as it was activated, the band located and penetrated the appropriate blood vessel and began to leak in a regulated stream of medicine. Wikus shuddered at the chilly sensation seeping up his arm, but after a few seconds of circulation, he could feel its effect and it really was marvelous. Suddenly, he didn't care, about _anything_. It was very much akin to being drunk without losing lucidity. He felt warm and comfortable, his nervous expression melting away in exchange for a dopey smile.

"How are we doing?" Satu asked, "Feeling good?"

"Uuuuuuuhhh-huh," Wikus sighed contentedly.

"Brilliant. Here we go." Satu made adjustments to the halo, then locked it down in place. It emitted a static buzz, jolting the man's skull slightly and drawing small beads of blood from his temples. Even so, Wikus didn't so much as complain. He could feel every stimuli quite plainly, but the drug was doing its job and he tolerated it without anguish.

Once her subject was ready, the Commander situated herself in the scanner's helm, pulling the displays down and fixing them about her head. If the sensations Wikus had already felt were strange, what occurred next was downright surreal. He could feel the device sifting through his memories like a television flips channels until it arrived at the appropriate depth. Then, everything he saw and heard from the time he entered the Palace ran through his mind at triple speed. Wikus was aware that the room was silent, but at the same time his memories seemed to replay right in his ears; the pictures streaking before his eyes even though they were currently shut. It was dizzying, nauseating, but he couldn't muster the desire to stop it.

Satu didn't seem to have any difficulty deciphering this blizzard of data. She sat very still, only her dual sets of antennae wavering now and again. Minutes ticked by and Yeen watched the process anxiously. He knew his partner wasn't being subjected to any real trauma, but he hated the thought of sitting idle while the human was in such discomfort.

Eventually, Satu ended the session, pushing the memory transmitter up and out of the way. She sat silently for a few seconds, gripped in contemplation, then stood to free her guest from the shackles of the scanner.

"Are you alright?" Satu asked softly, dabbing away the trickles of blood with a sterile pad.

"I feel'ittle tired..." Wikus slurred.

"That's to be expected. The drug will wear off on its own in about an hour. Both of you are welcome in my quarters; you must rest and eat."

"What did you see?" Yeen prompted anxiously.

"I am certain," Satu replied morosely as she sat at the workbench again, "that they do have a Gate."

"For how long?"

"It's impossible to say right now."

"Isn't that...keeping it secret like that, it's classified as High Treason, is it not?" Yeen struggled.

"Indeed. I can not envision a reason important enough to endanger the million-year relationship our two cultures have crafted together. This is..._most_ disappointing."

Wikus had rolled onto his side, his arm dangling over the edge of the table like a cat sunning on a window ledge. "So...whattrya gonna do, then?" he wondered out loud.

Commander Satu regarded the drunken man shrewdly before she answered him. "It is **you** who must take action now."

"W-**me**? Whaddam _I_ suppost t'do?"

"Wikus, the Royals of Maj will be quick to cover this up. Even now, I am certain they are rearranging legislation to keep us away from the Palace. There is only one person on the inside that may divulge their secrets...you must take a meeting with Princess Abayomi."

"Oogh...I dun think she likes me very mush. She's not gonna tell me anythin'..."

"You have an 'in' with her, young one. She is a human out of her element, just like you. And a _female_. If she isn't willing to open up to you through conversation, perhaps you should copulate with her..."

"HWHAAT!" Wikus blurted as he shoved himself upright. "Noono, thaz _not_ gonna happen..."

"I fail to see the problem," Satu clicked curiously, "I understood humans to be sexual beings...and rather proliferative ones..."

"Okay, yeah, sometimes but...it's not that easy...you gotta love a person firs'...er, at leas', they hafta _like_ you a little...'specially women...an' a woman like her, she's not gonna sleep with jus' _anyone_...I fee-feel pretty sure about that..."

"I do hate to ask this of you, Wikus, but you are the only one in any position to find an answer. You're an extraordinary person, in extraordinary circumstances...most of us can only claim allegiance to one species, but you belong to two...those that raised you, and those that care for you now. The future of both may hinge on the decision you make here."

Wikus slumped his shoulders. Even without the Commander's biochemical influence over him, he wouldn't have had any choice but to consent. "Well...as long as there isn't any pressure."

"Wonderful! I need to make the arrangement while I still have authority to do so, please excuse me. Lieutenant Kir will show you where you'll be sleeping tonight." Satu gave the Earthling a motherly pat on the head, then she was gone.

Yeen sat on the table beside him and wrapped a spiky arm around the disillusioned man. "Aahhhhh_geez_," Wikus moaned, "one of these days...I'm goin' ta learn t'listen to you..."

"I'd like that," Yeen replied wistfully.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Princess Abayomi**

It was an unwelcome sense of déjà vu that haunted Wikus as he stepped into the Western Capitol's bustling spaceport again. He'd completely lost his taste for adventure, but it was he that had opened Pandora's Box and he knew he had to help. He just wished the plan didn't hinge on such an awkward and tenuous arrangement.

Yeen sidled up to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. The worker's attitude toward all of this was annoyingly optimistic; it almost seemed like the prospect was slightly amusing to him. "How are you feeling?" he clicked.

"Oh, peachy," Wikus frowned.

"Everything will be fine."

"No, it really won't. There is..._zero_ chance this is going to work, man."

"Satu seems certain it will. He _is_ very wise..."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't know much about human nature. This is one area where I _do_ know more than you guys, Chris."

"None of this is your responsibility; all anyone is asking is that you try. Even if it fails, you did your best."

"Except that 'the fate of our people hangs in the balance'..."

"Don't concern yourself with that. Listen," Yeen murred, pulling the disgruntled human close, "how about, when this is over and we get home, we don't go back to work right away. I'll take you to the Yotoori shore, we can eat at that grill you like. I'll get you whatever you want, the whole sample tray...you can eat yourself into a coma. How would that be?"

"Mmf...you promise?"

"I do."

"...Alright. I guess..."

"That's the spirit. We'd better hurry up..."

General Tarzier was nearly out of view as he marched into the crowded street, obviously making his way to the Palace with or without them. The pair sprinted after their guardian, Wikus persisting until he'd placed himself in the soldier's path. Tarzier stopped short with a huff.

"Please, wait, Sir," Wikus interjected humbly. "I don't want to be a bother-"

"It's too late for that, Earth man."

"Yeah...yeah. It's just that I haven't had a bath in a week, and one of those days I spent in a prison..."

"_Spit it out_."

"The Princess isn't going to want to...do..._anything_ with me unless I can bathe first."

Tarzier eyed the man, then lifted his head and scanned the surroundings. "This way," he ordered plainly, and took a left down a side street with human and drone in tow.

The soldier led them to a tent structure that spanned an entire block, fronted by colorful tapestries imprinted with aquatic scenes. Tarzier ducked beneath them, Wikus and Yeen following suit, and the trio was eagerly greeted by a uniformed Majhatughan with a data port. The proprietor swapped dialogue with the General in the native tongue, repeatedly bowing and gesturing. Wikus suspected they wouldn't have seen such an abundance of humility if not accompanied by the formidable warrior.

Eventually the Majhatughan beckoned them to follow, leading them through a maze of stretched curtains and low walls. It was a few degrees cooler under the big tent, which wasn't saying much considering the continent's usual climate. But it seemed the configuration was designed to encourage the flow of air and it wasn't an entirely unpleasant place to be.

Their guide stopped in a bath house quadrant, a huge square partition filled with shower stalls. They came in clusters of four, joined at the center, each with a metal ring at the top that supported beautifully decorated animal-hide curtains. The perimeter of the area was left open for drying and dressing; intricately carved benches ran along the entire border.

"Here...number 64, this is for you. Please enjoy your stay!" the manager offered in polite Haltherian, then bowed and hurried back to his post.

Nearby, in a break in the bench border, there sat a slab of translucent yellow material with a knife stuck in it, like a gargantuan hunk of butter. Tarzier lopped off a chunk of the stuff and dropped it in Wikus's hands. It was slightly gelatinous and gave off a faint nutmeg-like aroma. "Here," the General said, "get going. We won't spend all day here."

"Yessir, thank you!" Wikus nodded and took his soap into the stall, pulling the curtain shut behind him.

The set-up was sweet and simple; even without knowledge of poleepkwan mechanics, a person would have no trouble working the bath. In the center, a round ceramic basin had been sunk into the floor, surrounded by painted tiles. The tub had a drain in the center which emptied into a subterraneous filter. The filter then piped the cleansed water up to the showerhead, making a complete cycle, just like the spa tubs on the Fiordraa. The only other fixture inside the stall was a silver tray atop a pole, on which Wikus placed his chunk of soap.

Eagerly, the human removed his clothes and set them to the side, then stood in the tub. With only one button on the shower pipe, the operation was fool-proof. It lit as he pushed it and immediately the basin filled with clear, tepid water up to his thighs. Another push started the cycling and he sighed blissfully as the water poured over him. Wikus was quick to remember the General's order and he hastened to wash his grubby clothing first, scrubbing them heartily with the soap then wringing them out and flopping them over the top of the curtain frame.

By the time Wikus had finished washing and rinsing his body, Maj's arid climate had nearly evaporated every drop of moisture from his clothing. Feeling much better, he collected his things and left the stall to assemble himself in the communal dressing space.

"Are you approachable now?" Tarzier inquired.

"Yes, thank you, that's a whole lot better...shoot, I wish I'd brought my brush," Wikus muttered, combing through his damp hair with his fingers. "Hey, where's Yeen?"

"Spending our money," the soldier sighed.

Wikus glanced up at him curiously, but before he could ask for an exposition, the drone in question trotted towards them with a few colorful, shining artifacts in his hands. "Here," Yeen grinned, "these might help your confidence problem."

The first item was a long, shimmering scarf in various shades of brilliant green. Wikus drew it through his hands, marveling at its silky feel and iridescent coloration. "Wow!" he beamed, "Thanks, man! It's great..." With particular care, he wrapped it around his waist twice and knotted it at his hip.

"And these, I think they go on your arms. At least, that's what I'm seeing people do with them..." and Yeen handed over two bands of lustrous gold, serpentined into arm cuffs. They were delicately engraved with the most painstaking patterns Wikus had ever seen. "Now, don't get attached to them," the worker added, "we'll have to sell them back before we leave."

"That's okay, I really appreciate this," Wikus smiled at his partner. He slipped them on and they sat snugly around the tops of his forearms, looking quite regal. "What do you think?" he inquired, presenting himself for consideration.

"I'd do you," Yeen grinned impishly, prompting a loud snort from his Sugati and a wearied eye-roll from the General.

"This has all been delightful. Can we move along now?" Tarzier growled.

"Yes, sir, I'm ready," Wikus sighed.

* * *

><p>Entering the Palace through the main gate was an entirely different experience from Wikus's previous visit. It was an environment designed to impress guests of many species, with high-ceilinged halls and ornate columns, peppered with colorful flags and carving work. Poleepkwan soldiers accompanied Tarzier and Yeen to an ostentatious visitor's wing while another pair escorted Wikus to the quarters of Princess Abayomi. Not surprisingly, Majhatughan officials were few and far between today. Wikus knew they were allowing this meeting begrudgingly.<p>

When he arrived at the same white-framed door he'd discovered several days prior, the senior armed guard addressed him with an attitude of kinship that probably had little to do with the crystal hanging around his neck. "We will remain outside this door for the entirety of your stay. If you need help, please don't hesitate to hail us."

"Thank you very much," Wikus replied with a bow, and the pair of warriors took up a sentinel stance on either side of the doorway.

Straightening his posture and mustering his confidence, Wikus pushed the door open and strolled inside. The room was just as he'd left it...fragrant, softly lit and peaceful. The occupant awaiting him was less inviting, however. Abayomi stood stiffly beside her desk, fixing the other human with a scrutinizing stare. She was clothed in a dark, velvety, floor-length dress that fitted close to the contours of her body until it flared out at her wrists and around her feet. It was trimmed in glittering gold, but lacked the flamboyant vitality of her green garments. It seemed, to Wikus, more the sort of thing a mourner might wear.

"Hello, Your Highness...thank you for seeing me," Wikus began as politely as he knew how.

"I know why it is you're here," Abayomi countered coldly.

"Y..you _do_?"

"Of course. And what we do with our Gate is no one's concern but our own."

"Oh! No, Princess, you misunderstand...I came to see _you_! That was the only reason I'd ever come."

"Why?"

"Well, I was actually in Keehar the same day you were three years ago...I guess, you didn't have your hologram on...there...eh, but I tried to catch up with you and got lost. I only wanted to talk, I never expected to see another human off-world. I would have explained all this last time, but I didn't get the...well, you were there..."

"Who _are_ you?" Abayomi pried, her eyes narrowing. "What business do you have with the poleepkwa?"

"I'm a little surprised you don't know me...I have a...a sort of, reputation, on Earth..." Wikus fumbled, fiddling his hands uncomfortably.

"I don't visit that wretched place," she snorted derisively.

"I see. Well, ah, maybe I should tell you _my_ story first, eh? It's quite a tale...do you mind if I sit?" He managed a timid smile and pointed at the wide, plush bed.

Abayomi responded with a very faint nod of the head and Wikus took it as a green light. He sat on the edge of the lounge and ran a hand over the cushioning. "Ooh! That's very nice...okay, so, let me see..."

The estranged Earthling began his epic with a tone of nervousness, but it faded as he recalled the events and people that composed the fibers of his life. He told the Princess about his parents, his wife, his career, and the bizarre turn of events that connected him to the poleepkwa. He detailed the lessens he'd learned, the trials he'd suffered, and the family that cared for him now. Abayomi's demeanor appeared to shift as well while she listened. Her stony expression softened, in particular at the point where her guest recalled his agonizing separation with Tania. By the end of the narrative she'd come to sit beside him on the bed, though she was careful to keep some distance between them.

"So...that's pretty much it. And now I'm here," Wikus swallowed, his mouth dry from speaking. "I really didn't mean to turn this all into such a...you know, an _issue_..."

"I know," Abayomi replied softly, "and I didn't mean to send you through, but..."

"How could you have known? Neither of us could have known..." Wikus turned his attention away from her lovely deep brown eyes, fingering the end of his scarf and trying his hardest to think of a way to steer the conversation back to the Gate without making it obvious. "Anyway, that's how _I_ got here...what about _you_?"

"Hm," she said thoughtfully, folding her hands in her lap, "I was adopted."

"You don't say," Wikus grinned, utterly thrilled when he finally coaxed a slight smile from her as well.

"Yes, I do say. I was abandoned by my real parents on Earth. When my father, Posacam, lost his infant daughter to illness, he was heartbroken. Our guards brought me back for him and they raised me as their own. That's all I really know of it."

"Wow, that's rather sad...I'm sorry..."

"I'm not. I love my family, they are far kinder and more generous than anyone I could have had back there."

Wikus ignored her second inexplicable denouncement of their homeworld and pressed forward. "When you were a baby...that must mean the Gate's been in use for a few years..."

Abayomi turned away, looking at nothing in particular. "I'm sorry," Wikus offered, fearing he'd just undone the progress they'd made. She didn't answer, but neither did she move from her seat beside him. "It's just...you spoke of your family so kindly, yet you just seem...forlorn...to me. Is there more to it than that?"

The woman continued to stare off into oblivion. "Even a Royal cannot save everyone. You wouldn't understand."

"Is that why you were on Keehar? Trying to save someone?"

"...I was running away."

"From what?" Wikus worried, furrowing his brow.

Abayomi finally met his inquisitive green eyes, but her gaze quickly dropped to the glowing violet flame against his chest. "This is very beautiful," she mused, reaching over to take the crystal between her thumb and forefinger.

Wikus found it difficult to let go of the unsettling fork their conversation had taken, but it was obvious the Princess wasn't going to advance any further at the moment. "Um...thank you..."

"The poleepkwa must think very highly of you, to grant you this."

"I suppose they do. To be honest, I don't feel like I deserve it..."

"No, you do," she smiled, "if what you speak is true. You are very courageous."

"I, eh...well...thank you, Your Highness," Wikus blushed, returning her smile.

"Your poleepkwa...do they take good care of you?"

"Absolutely! They give me everything I could ever need."

"_Everything?_"

"Well...yes..."

"You have physical relations with them?"

"Oh...man," Wikus chuckled, feeling his face flush again, "I...yeah, we do."

"Even though you are of a different species?"

"Well...I don't know if that kind of thing is _customary_, but...it started when I still had my poleepkwan body. See, it was two years after Chris left and things were truly starting to fall apart. And then, on top of it, that was when I first saw Tania with...you know, another man. I just..._really needed_ someone. I was so lonely. I waffled on it for a long time, but eventually I figured, 'what the hell.' You remember my friend, Brutus? He's the one who taught me all about...that. It's not at all the same for them as it is for humans...you know, they don't have to worry about pregnancy and all that, so for them it's like...a hug...no big deal. I didn't think I'd like it, it was so surreal at first, but it turned out to be really nice."

"And they still accept you as a partner, even now?"

"Yep. Nothing really changed much."

"I envy you," Abayomi said pensively.

"Why? You're not allowed to have sex with the Majhatughans? Oh my, that was probably a very inappropriate question to ask a princess, I'm sorry..."

"No, I am not," she answered matter-of-factly. "And I'm not permitted through the Gate to fraternize with the Earthlings."

"Oh. So you've...never before..."

"No. Who would there be for me?"

"What about me?" Wikus winced after he spoke. He was certain this was not the way to approach such a sensitive subject, but it was out there now, he couldn't take it back. Fortunately, the direct approach seemed to be working.

Abayomi moved closer to the anxious man until her hip brushed against his. "You would do that? You would consent to be my 'wife'?"

Wikus stifled a laugh that he immediately had to clarify. "Oh, no, Your Highness, I _would_! It's just...you said 'wife'...it's 'husband.'"

"What?"

"_Husband_. The male half of the couple is called a 'husband'."

"I see..." Abayomi whispered, studying Wikus's face and drawing her slender fingers through his hair. Alien or not, Wikus was beginning to believe Commander Satu knew a little more about human behavior than he'd thought...


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**The Parcel**

Wikus opened his eyes slowly, almost dreading the vacancy of sleep. With his current track record, he should have awoken in a ditch or a dumpster, but he was pleasantly relieved to find himself in the same luxurious bed he'd passed out in. He spread out his arms a little, savoring the silken drapings that covered his bare skin, pressing his hands into cushioning that was even plusher than his own fluffy pelts. Above, colorful tapestries broke up the ceiling and created mottled shadows in the lanterns' light. With no windows or anything resembling a clock, and his comm link tossed to the floor with his clothes, it was impossible to gauge how much time he'd spent with Abayomi...who was, he realized, conspicuously absent.

Frowning, Wikus pushed himself up onto his elbows and had a proper look around. He was certain she'd fallen asleep beside him, yet she, and her garments, were missing. A host of paranoid scenarios ran through his mind until she did appear, fully dressed and accessorized just the same as she'd been when he'd entered the room.

"Good, you're awake," Abayomi said hastily, any hint of the warmth he'd felt before tucked away beneath her formal facade. "Please dress. It's time for you to go."

"Yeah. Saw _that_ coming," Wikus grunted as he sat up. "Not even a-"

"Hush! It's late. You _must_ leave." The Princess moved to stand beside her door, watching her guest expectantly.

Without another word, Wikus dressed, bid the Princess a ceremonial farewell, and remanded himself to the protection of the guards outside her door. At least he could look forward to a warm reception from the green alien waiting somewhere in the Palace.

* * *

><p>"Why are you sulking?"<p>

"I told you why."

"Yes, but I don't understand," Yeen replied gently. Safely tucked into Cabin #3 on board Tarzier's cruiser and headed home, the sympathetic drone was doing his best to comfort his sullen human. The pair sat side by side on the edge of the bunk, Wikus studying his boots and Yeen pondering Wikus.

"What's to understand? I told you I couldn't do it."

"You did everything Satu asked."

"And how much more do we know? That they've had the Gate for over two decades. That they could have rescued you guys when you were stranded on Earth but instead, your closest allies left you to twist in the wind for...God knows why...You know, I think you'd be more upset about that."

"I am. But we weren't _expecting_ good news here..."

Wikus slumped over, leaning on his knees. "Can you imagine...I'd still be with Tania. You'd still have Otowek..."

"And we wouldn't be together at all." Wikus raised his head to look into his Sugati's eyes. He didn't need to answer, Yeen could see his mind quite clearly. "It's hard to cope with sometimes, but maybe everything does happen for a reason."

"You think so?" Wikus wondered.

"I prefer to."

"Yeah. So do I."

Wikus straightened and leaned against his friend, enjoying the subtle movements of his plated sides as he breathed. "So tell me," Yeen prodded eventually, "how was it?"

"How was what? The sex?"

"Yes."

"I don't know, man, it was weird."

"Weird? Would it not have been a very natural interaction for you both?"

"Yeah, it _should_ have been, but it _wasn't_. And that made it ever weirder."

"She is not attractive to you?"

"No, she's very beautiful...but she's never done anything like that before. It was...like my first time as a poleepkwa...everything was new to her. She'd never even seen a man _naked_ before. I had to tell her what things were called...that got awkward." Wikus sat back against the bunk wall with a huff and rested his hands on his belly. "I wish I was in better shape..."

"I like your shape the way it is," Yeen retorted with a raised brow.

"I know. It's mostly _your_ doing." Wikus couldn't help but smirk at the worker's smug expression. "Ah...it's easy for you guys. It's easy for _us_. Everyone's the same. Same mindset, same...parts. But with women, everything comes with subtitles; you can't take anything they say at face value. What they want changes from one day to the next...it's complicated."

Yeen shook his head in dismay. "You are undoubtedly the most neurotic alien I've ever met. You've obsessed over this woman for three years, then you finally find her, have _intercourse_ with her, and you're _still_ unhappy?"

"I'm not the kind of guy who does this sort of thing! It would have been nice to get to know her a little, first. Now I just feel...guilty."

"Whatever for?"

"I feel like I used her...just to get her to tell me something she didn't even _tell_ me."

"It sounded to me like she was more than willing."

"What would you expect? I told you, she still has all the urges of a normal woman, just no way to satisfy them."

"Then, by that logic, you should be pleased that you could help her with it."

"Yeah...I guess. Don't know how good a job I did...it's been a while, you know," Wikus muttered into his chest.

"I'm sure you're fretting over nothing. Did she do that thing I do for you, with my finger-"

"WHAT? No!"

"You told me you liked it..."

"I do! Fook man, you can't ask a lady to do that on a first date! Especially not a _princess_..."

"You're saying her fingers are too short," Yeen contemplated, genuinely attempting to solve this riddle.

"You know what," Wikus interrupted hastily, "maybe we shouldn't talk. Talking is always a bad idea."

Yeen squinted and shook said finger at his agitated partner. "Your people are very repressed. It might be the cause of a lot of your social shortcomings."

Wikus pretended not to hear and drew his legs close, curling up in the bunk with his nose to the wall. "In fact..._unf_...I'm going to see if I can't just sleep the rest of the way."

"For four days?"

"_G'night_."

"Hm," Yeen smiled, "repressed."

* * *

><p>The sparkling cascade of Oolund was a more than welcome sight to the pair of travelers, but they were even happier to reunite with the family. The Gateway was to be kept secret from the public until further details surfaced, so as far as everyone knew, Yeen had intercepted Wikus before he made it to the Palace and their delay in returning had been caused by a lost boarding pass. Wikus's morose attitude was passed off as a bought of Traveler's Sickness, and as soon as everyone was satisfied with the couple's return, Yeen escorted him to the sunny shores of Yotoori, as promised.<p>

They spent a week on the beach and the Earthling's mood lifted as long as he remained distracted. But when it was time for life to return to normal, Yeen brought his partner back several pounds fatter but none the more encouraged. Even a transmission from Commander Ruwala, commending him for his efforts in the matter, did little to bolster his spirits and the following weeks were difficult for them both.

This day had been particularly unhappy for Wikus. It was the sort of day where nothing goes as planned and one frustration just seems to roll into another. After work, the family gathered at a restaurant near the plant as they always did on the last night of the week. It was an exciting eatery for the children as well as the adults, with games and entertainment; a reward for a hard week's effort. But tired and suffering a headache, Wikus opted not to join the merriment in favor of a small, quiet meal at home. As always, Yeen stayed by his side.

"How's your headache?" the drone asked.

"Mm. Almost gone. The soup was delicious, thank you," Wikus smiled contentedly as he stepped over Roly to bring his bowl to the kitchen.

"Tasted good?" Yeen clicked, taking the dish and stashing it in the sanitizing bin.

"Yeah. Just what I was wanting. Hate to miss a night at Zula's, but this was nice."

Darkness had crept over the countryside while the man and his caretaker ate. Somewhere miles to the north, a gentle grumble of thunder hinted at the approach of rain. Wikus reclined on his usual resting spot in the living room; he didn't feel like doing much of anything, yet it seemed too early to go to bed. Yeen made his way from the kitchen to join him until something caught his eye.

"Oh. There was a delivery?"

"Mm..." Wikus replied dully, "...didn't think to look."

The worker switched off the mail bin's green indicator light and pulled a small shipping package out of the tray. "It's for you," he said, antennae wobbling with curiosity.

Wikus sat up on the bench, his interest taken as well. "It's from her," he whispered with an odd sense of premonition.

"You know this? How? I don't see an address..."

"I'm sure," Wikus answered, hopping to his feet and hastily accepting the little crate from Yeen. He opened it, peeked inside, then tipped it over and a little data chip plopped into his open palm. The pair looked at it, then at each other. Clutching the chip, Wikus fiddled with the crate and pulled out the second item jammed inside...a folded bit of white paper. It was a substance he hadn't seen or touched since Earth. The faint scent of perfume clinging to the paper confirmed his suspicion and he unfolded it carefully. It was scrolled beautifully in English by the hand of one well practiced in such arts.

"My Dear Wikus,

I have some very important things to tell you. Firstly, I must impart my sincere remorse at the manner in which we parted. I want you to know that I did enjoy our brief time together. It was largely the story of your courage that motivated me to the course of action I have taken now. I am truly sorry that you and your family have become entwined in this conspiracy, but as it seems there is no way to remove you from the center of it, I am handing over this information. Do with it whatever you see fit.

The chip you hold contains some of my people's most private files. On it you will see every register, report and chart relating to the Majhatughan activity on Earth, including the development and application of Interspecies Cognizance Transplants.

I feel very saddened that I am not able to rectify what my people have done. So I am leaving, again, and I must ask that you not send soldiers out to search for me. I won't forget you, Wikus, and I hope you will not think too poorly of me...

-Abayomi"

Wikus's thoughts were rapt by the encounter on Keehar that had started his involvement with this only other extraterrestrial member of his species. He couldn't imagine what would drive the woman to put herself in such a predicament again. Baffled, it was Yeen's bizarre expression that drew his attention back to the present.

"They couldn't have..."

"Couldn't have what?"

"Cognizance Transplants..." Yeen mumbled, plucking the data chip from the Earthling's hand and fitting it into the nearby port.

"Yeah, I don't know what that is...did you hear that?"

"...huh?"

"It was a _thunk_...outside..."

"Thunder."

"No, not that. Whatever, what is this about, now? It's bad, isn't it?"

"Possibly. Let me look..." Yeen answered absently, unperturbed by the man's impatience.

Wikus had no choice but to stand quietly by the poleepkwa's side, watching a mad parade of alien data slide across the monitor's display. Yeen scanned it quickly, frowning, but offering no further indication as to its meaning.

"Well?" Wikus urged eventually.

"It appears your friend speaks the truth."

"About these transplant things?"

"Yes. You see, for a millennia many different species have been working towards a successful mind-to-body transplant. It means...taking the...how should I say, the _person_...one's mind, emotions, consciousness...from the body and placing it into a husk body, essentially reanimating a dead body with a new person inside."

"Yeesh. For...what? To live forever?"

"Well, different scientists had different motives, but that was one possibility. It never worked, though. The new host either could not be revived, or died shortly after."

"And the Majhatughans found a way..."

"Yes. Thanks to your species. Humans, it seems, are perfect hosts. Your bodies are extremely resilient, they tolerate a lot of manipulation. That's how you were able to survive your multiple transformations."

"So, wait...they're going through this Gate and sticking alien minds into human bodies?"

"Yes..."

"_Why_? There it goes again, you really don't hear that?"

Yeen ignored the secondary remark. "The Majhatughans have an immense and long standing prison system."

"Yeah. I know, we were there," Wikus grunted, scratching a head that was beginning to ache again.

"Well...some species don't believe in killing their criminals. To them, death is an easy way out. They bring these convicts to Maj instead and pay their wardens to carry out the sentencing. So a human is abducted through the Gate, usually a baby or a young child, and the mind is taken from the prisoner and placed into the human, who is returned to Earth to live out his days with everyone else. The Majhatughans make a formidable profit without having to spend any of it on keeping the subject alive and contained."

"Being a human is _worse_ than the death penalty?" Wikus gaped.

"It's not so easy. The transplant works, but not perfectly. The human body is not strong enough to contain what is often a much more complex species and the alien within wears through over time. It causes all sorts of problems," Yeen practically groaned, flipping through report logs as he explained. "Sometimes the person goes mad, sometimes the criminal tendencies resurface and they become sociopaths again. These human hybrids always live miserable lives in one form or another, with no knowledge of why or how, and usually spread their suffering onto innocents..."

"So the crazy, homeless man screaming obscenities on the street corner is actually an alien in a human body?"

"Not in all cases, but it certainly accounts for some."

"She couldn't stand watching it anymore..." Wikus realized sadly. "That's why she's running."

"It's possible that the Royals felt caring for one of the species in such a lavish way reconciled what they've been doing to the others."

"Hardly! How many humans have they used?"

"I don't know. The records appear to go back at least 1000 years..."

"A thousand years?" Wikus choked. "What's happened to all these kids? Where do they stash the human minds?"

"Nowhere," Yeen said quietly, his large eyes despondent, "they die."

"I don't..." Wikus struggled to cope with what he was hearing. He rubbed at his forehead wearily and sat in the nearest chair. "What...do we do, Chris?"

"We must get this data to General Tarzier. Aside from that, there's little you or I could-" Yeen stopped short, his hand inches away from the data port, his body rigid as though he'd just been tapped in a game of freeze tag.

Anguished though he was, the strange knocking outside had gripped Wikus's attention as well. "Uh-huh, see? You heard it, too. What is it?"

Yeen's sensitive antennae wavered once, then with silence and frightening swiftness, he scooped Wikus off his seat, tucked him under an arm, and bolted out the side door. Startled and bewildered, Wikus couldn't manage to piece together any coherent speech as his partner carried him into the darkness at top speed. The answer came without an inquiry a few seconds later as their home erupted into a Hellish fireball, splitting the night with a deafening blast. The shockwave threw both man and drone to the ground, where they hurried to protect their heads from the barrage of flaming debris.

Horrified, Wikus strained to look over his shoulder at the burning wreckage that had been their house, but Yeen was already on his feet. He hefted the human again and set off as fast as his legs would take them.

Wikus struggled against the poleepkwa's powerful grasp. "**Wait!**" he sputtered, "We have to go back! Roly...we can't leave him!"

"He's gone!" Yeen clicked through overwrought breaths. Even though he wasn't sure where they were going, the worker knew they, too, would meet the same fate unless he formulated a plan very quickly.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**The Delta**

Despondent and terrified, Wikus was helpless to take any action on their behalf and resigned himself to his Sugati's protection. The glowing crystal hanging from his neck cast a fleeting illumination upon the eel grass that zipped by beneath them. With the storm clouds blanketing the region, there could be no additional light from the moons and the rest of the man's field of view was black. A poleepkwa's acute night vision gave Yeen a fair idea of the lay of the land, but for Wikus, it was a completely surreal and disorientating jaunt. The explosion continued to ring in his ears and he couldn't seem to think of anything else but his beloved pill bug. The poor creature had skirted death as a baby only to find his end in the home of the very person who had saved him.

Yeen continued to flee at a full run until he found a suitable place to hide and catch his breath. He pounced into the cover of a small copse, pushing aside hanging vines and the tentacles of curious Nidu, and set his human on his feet beside the trunk of a large fungus colony. Before he spoke, the drone hastily doused the light of his Mahan band and dropped Wikus's flame inside his shirt, leaving their surroundings dark.

Wikus ignored the fact that he couldn't see a thing and addressed the spot where he knew his partner to be. "What the _hell_ was that?"

"They know..." Yeen panted.

"Who?"

"The Maj'...they know...we have the data..."

"I thought they were a 'peaceful race'?"

"Hush!" Yeen hissed, "There seems to be a lot we didn't know about them."

"So they tried to _kill_ us? What th- wait! What about everyone else? The kids-"

"They're fine. We can't panic. They'll be okay, they were in Oolund...that place is crawling with soldiers. No one could get anywhere _near_ them there..." Yeen placed his hands on the man's shoulders to reassure him. He had no way of knowing if he spoke the truth, but the worker did know that if he gave in to those fears, it would paralyze him and doom them both.

"We have to call them..." Wikus urged, feeling about for his comm link.

"No!" Yeen squawked, gripping the human's wrists. "You must not turn on your link, for any reason. Electrical transmissions can be tracked. Now...let me think...it won't take them long to figure out we weren't killed in the explosion..."

"I don't...get it..." Wikus muttered weakly. "With everything that's happened, how could Majhatughans even be _allowed _to enter poleepkwan space?"

"They wouldn't come, themselves. They'd send Horvoss."

"_What_ are Horvoss?"

"Don't ask. Here's what we'll do...we're going to head for the Kaltu Delta..."

"You told me never to go there!"

"It's very dangerous, but that will make it difficult for them as well. We can't stay on the surface. I'll guide you...you _must_ stay close to me, and don't speak unless you need to. Yes?"

Wikus nodded obediently. Yeen took his hand and wove through the tangle of Nidu with the man doing his best to trace his path. Eventually they stepped out into the open again and the drone set off at a pace he knew Wikus could match. The jog was made more difficult by the need to keep a hand clasped but the pair managed to fall into a rhythm.

Unaccustomed to this sort of prolonged physical activity, it wasn't long before a pain began to grow in the Earthling's side and his throat grew dry from gasping. Yet fear and adrenaline kept him running. Every so often, Yeen would veer to one side or another and dip into a forested spot to stop and rest. There was no sign of a pursuer, but perhaps as daunting, no sign of an ally, either. This far into the countryside, and headed towards a no-man's-land, air traffic was meager and ground traffic nonexistent. Yeen knew his partner couldn't keep it up indefinitely, but any path towards civilization would surely be watched. Leading them into danger might be the only way to safety.

After more than two hours of sprinting and pausing, Wikus staggered into another wooded outcropping and fell to his knees. "I can't...keep...going..." he gasped, wiping the sweat from his face.

"Just rest a bit," Yeen coaxed.

"No...man, I'm...I'm done. You'll hafta...go on without me..."

"No! Absolutely not."

"Look, I'll hide out...here...you make a run for it...bring back help..."

"You'll have to ride on my back," Yeen answered resolutely.

"No way! I'll just slow you down."

"If you stay, I'll stay with you. If I leave, you leave with me. I'll not leave you alone to die again."

"Ah...geez..." Wikus huffed, leaning against a Nidu. He couldn't see his friend but he could almost feel the drone's stern gaze. It was clear the issue wasn't open for debate.

For a few moments they sat quietly, catching their breath. Wikus could just hear the faint sound of rushing water over the chorus of nocturnal insects; they were close to the Kaltu. He didn't have the heart to ask Yeen how much further they'd have to go before they entered the delta, but a small part of him was deeply grateful that the worker was willing to carry him the rest of the way. His legs certainly weren't up to the task.

Eventually Yeen drew close, took Wikus's hand and helped him clamber onto his back in the dark. Then he stood without so much as a grunt and trotted out onto the rolling fields. Even clinging to his partner was somewhat of a strain for Wikus in his exhausted condition, but he gritted his teeth and attempted to keep his arms and legs from interfering with the drone's gait.

As they marched on, the sound of the river grew louder until it was roaring at their right side. Though the human couldn't see it, the sound effectively impressed the sheer size and power of the Kaltu. And another auditory clue told him their landscape was changing as well. Yeen's footfalls had taken on a gravelly crunch, his stride becoming slower and more deliberate. It was not just the force of the water that made this land treacherous.

The constitution of this region changed as it stretched out to the sea. The earth became sponge-like, peppered with loose rock. This made it very unstable and as the river coursed into it, the land was easily washed away. As a result, the Kaltu plummeted underground at the Delta Falls, then split numerous times and snaked its way through a labyrinth of tubes. Miles away it slid out into the ocean, bringing with it tons of coal-colored silt and creating the aptly named Black Bay.

Aside from the falls themselves, the surface of the delta was deceptively even. The eel grass and other Nidu created a living net, their root systems reaching two to three feet down and holding the top layer of the land together. It was impossible to tell from a visual inspection where the tunnels might be, and the net could easily give way at any point. A pedestrian might find his foot sunk into a shallow pothole, or he could simply plummet through the roof of a massive tunnel.

With a vast and sheltered environment fed by nutrient rich waters, the tunnels themselves housed their own unique ecosystem. Most of the creatures that inhabited this subterranean system were small and innocuous, but there were sizable predators in the river, a danger most of Patakatifu's natives were wise enough to avoid.

Yeen made every effort not to think of them as he carefully picked his way among the rocks at the river's edge, steadily descending into one of the delta's largest tunnels. Wikus didn't need to be told to tighten his grip. He could hear nothing but the tumult of the rapids growing hollow as they cascaded into the cavern. Cold mist dampened his skin and clothes, as if the Kaltu was reaching out to threaten him...you can't see me, but I can still kill you.

After a very tense climb, Yeen made it to a more level plane, and he began to move down the length of the enormous tunnel by clinging to the side. At last he reached what he'd hoped to find, a recess in the wall where a massive boulder had come loose and fallen away. It was just large enough to conceal them both and the fatigued worker scurried inside.

Just as grateful for the hideout, Wikus released his Sugati and huddled at the back of the nook, massaging his sore limbs. It was immediately apparent that they did not have the space to themselves; Wikus could feel the walls crawling with little arthropods. They tickled his skin with their feelers and began to crawl all over him, investigating their unusual visitor. Grumpily he brushed them off, but they were as persistent as mosquitoes in a swamp. After several minutes he could feel them in his hair, down his shirt, even poking into his ears and nostrils.

"What are we going to do?" Wikus moaned miserably.

"I...don't know..." Yeen confessed. "We could wait for Tarzier to find us by way of your tracking chip. But...first they'll need to figure out what happened to our house, then...that we were home and not in Oolund with the others...then that we weren't killed in the explosion. No, I...I don't think I want to wait here and hope the right people find us first."

"So, what then?"

"Well, there is a military outpost at Black Bay. It's quite a trek, though..."

"If that's the only way, that's all there is to it," Wikus sighed.

"It is. Let's rest for a little while longer," the drone spoke quietly. He reached over to brush the annoying creatures from his human's face before pulling the man into his lap. Yeen wrapped his sturdy arms around Wikus, as much to comfort himself as his partner.

They sat in silence for half an hour, straining to hear any extrinsic noises over the river below. Wikus would normally have been sleeping soundly by this hour, a fact his weary body persisted in pointing out. The thought that they still had a long journey ahead only made him all the more pessimistic.

At last, Yeen released his cohort and removed the Ulu Mahan from inside his shirt. Wikus grimaced at the myriad of crawlies covering the walls and their bodies.

Warily, Yeen uncovered his crystals as well. "We'll have to be able to see," he explained. "I'll lead, and you must follow my steps very closely. Test each foothold before you put weight on it. It is _imperative_ that we not fall into the water. You do remember what I taught you about the delta?"

Wikus nodded solemnly. "Good. Quietly, now," Yeen whispered, and he climbed out of the recess. Wikus followed, copying the drone's movements. Slowly the couple made their way along the cave wall like mountain climbers, sidestepping and keeping a keen eye on the raging river below. Every so often, the shape of the tunnel would turn to their advantage, providing a wider pathway and allowing them to properly walk forward. There were places that were not so kind, too, some of which Wikus simply couldn't negotiate without claws and powerful limbs. So periodically he would have to maneuver onto Yeen's back again and pray it didn't cause either of them to slip.

After several miles, the branch of the river began to flow more smoothly and the atmosphere quieted. The terrain diversified as well, with the Kaltu splitting off here and there. The river had been carving this maze for centuries and there were a few older tunnels that had emptied after the tributaries found more amiable paths. Yeen's sensitive antennae perceived something of interest and he led Wikus up into one of these dry tunnels.

The channel was just large enough for the human to stand upright, but it wasn't long. Several yards back it had suffered a cave-in at some point and the way was completely blocked. "We must be close to the surface," Yeen said quietly, "do you hear the rain?"

"I think so...but why did we come this way?"

"Look here," Yeen pointed at the wall as Wikus drew close. A trickle of rain water was seeping in from the storm somewhere over their heads. "It's clean enough. Drink."

Wikus acquiesced eagerly, collecting the rain water in his cupped hands and slurping it down. It tasted a bit muddy, but their excursion had left him both hungry and thirsty; it just felt good to take in _something_.

He'd only swallowed a few mouthfuls when an abrupt twitch of the drone's head diverted Wikus's attention. At the mouth of their tunnel, something large had poked its head into view. It was still for the moment, observing them, but Yeen's stiff body language told Wikus their hunter had finally caught up with them.

In a blink the beast scuttled into the tunnel and overwhelmed Yeen, flipping him onto his back. It was barely larger than the poleepkwa, but it was evident that its strength greatly exceeded Yeen's. The Horvoss's body had no texture, no reflection; it was so utterly black that it almost seemed to absorb the light. It had four identical limbs, lean and ropey, each ending in a widely splayed hand with exceptionally long, skeletal, talon-tipped fingers. Its head was puppet-like with no notable features except two white dots that Wikus took to be eyes and a set of elongated jaws full of little thorn teeth.

Yet it didn't seem interested in using those teeth. Its claws scraped against the carapace of its victim as Yeen struggled to fend it off. While a stunned Wikus watched, the monster began to emit a disgusting guttural noise, then its abdomen split open, large chunks of flesh pulling apart to expose a bright crimson interior. Bundles of wet innards descended from the Horvoss 's body like macabre party streamers. The instant they touched the drone's inert form, he screeched in pain.

The sickening cry was enough to snap Wikus out of his terrified trance and he scrambled to his feet. Feverishly searching the walls, he managed to locate a sizable rock and clawed at it until it came loose from the earth. Hefting the 40 pound stone, Wikus heaved it at the beast, striking it squarely in the side and tumbling it off of his partner.

Yeen struggled upright, but before he could gather his senses, Wikus had sprinted past him. The Horvoss was quick to recover, having already collected its digestive system, and turned to pursue its attacker. To Yeen's horror the human was overtaken, not by one Horvoss, but by two before he pitched himself and his assassins into the river.

Wikus managed to keep a lungful of air, though he was certain it was a futile effort. The monsters' claws and teeth easily cut him open, his innocent glowing crystal revealing his spilled blood in the murky water. He did his best to fight, but there were no more resources left to call upon, even if it had been a fair match. Wikus had no sooner resigned himself to death when the Mahan's light caught another unwelcome sight. Beside him, a huge set of jaws flashed in the hazy glow, lined with dagger-sized teeth. They snapped down on the Horvoss and ripped it away with a burbling shriek. Just as quickly the second assassin was also caught by an unseen predator, its powerful hands slicing through Wikus's flesh as it went. The Earthling lost his held breath in a pained howl before he, too, was captured.

Luckily, Wikus's captor was not interested in eating him. Yeen swiftly hauled the bleeding man out of the river and back into the empty cave. Once out of reach of the river's carnivores, the panicked drone laid his Sugati on his back. "Why did you do that?" Yeen clicked despondently.

Wikus mumbled something unintelligible before he closed his eyes and fell unresponsive. Yeen looked him over carefully, shining the light from his wristband over the human's body. He was a bloody mess, but by no small miracle, none of the wounds seemed to have opened a main artery. The blood flow was smooth and even; nothing was coursing out in time with the beating of his heart. That certainly didn't mean Wikus would live, the worker was fast to realize. The shear number of lacerations were quickly draining the man of blood, and a particularly nasty gash in his lower abdomen was allowing a bit of intestine to poke through.

Hastily, Yeen tore apart the human's shirt and pants, forming bandages to hold the worst of the wounds closed. Then, with part of a pant leg, he tied the limp human to his back and scrambled to the cave-in. Yeen knew they would be sitting ducks in the open, but his only chance now was a flat out sprint towards the bay.

The drone began to frantically tear at the roof of the cave, clawing away rock, soil and roots. Eventually he could feel more rainwater pouring in, and then, daylight. When he'd widened the opening enough to fit them both, Yeen poked his head out into the ashen light of early morning. The rain was pummeling the field in sheets, making it impossible to get a feel of the land with antennae. All directions looked the same as Yeen staggered out of the hole; they were yet too far away from the shore to see the ocean.

What did catch his eye decided a route for him. Far to his right, Yeen could just see something inky slinking through the grass towards him, and he set off as fast as he could manage in the opposite direction. Weakened and carrying a passenger, he knew it was inevitable that they would be caught. Even through the storm, Yeen could feel the monster closing in until a white flash and a loud crack threw him forward onto the ground.

Heart pounding, Yeen struggled onto his elbow to look behind him. The gruesome jaws of the dead Horvoss gaped at him from a few feet away, its body burnt nearly to cinders. Yeen's first thought was that it had been struck by lightning in some incredible gift of chance until a two-person military cruiser skidded to a stop before him. An unfamiliar soldier hopped out of the passenger compartment, still wielding his weapon, and hurried toward the object of his search.

Spent, Yeen collapsed into the eel grass, ignoring the warrior's discourse. He didn't have the stomach to ask whether the human strapped to his back was still alive.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Goodbye, Wikus**

Yeen snorted suddenly and straightened himself in his seat. His doctors had encouraged him to take up one of the hospital's bunks and do some proper sleeping, but the fatigued drone insisted on his current station instead. Still, given the night's events and the peaceful lullaby the rain was pattering out on the windows, dozing was inevitable.

The man in the bed before him had not yet joined Yeen in the waking world. Wikus had been out for over 11 hours, and it was a matter of perfect timing, or perhaps dumb luck, that had saved his life at all. Four of those hours were spent repairing the human's myriad wounds, sanitizing and soldering them back together while pumping him full of his own cloned blood.

Oolund's Medical Unit 304 was well equipped to treat not only poleepkwa, but many of the aliens that visited Patakatifu. The bed Wikus reclined in was not the hard-surfaced egg that drones preferred, but something closer to what a human might expect, though a bit larger than what he actually required. Wikus's bare body had been neatly covered with a warm blanket, his head rested upon a cushion. There was really no incentive to awaken early.

It was a particularly close clap of thunder that rattled the recovery wing and finally revived Wikus. His eyes flipped open with a start and he squawked in surprise as his brain attempted to pick up where it had left off. "Wha- Chris!"

"It's okay! I'm here."

"What'sis? What happened?" Wikus choked, struggling to sit up.

Yeen gently pressed the disoriented man back into the mattress and inclined the bed into a more upright position instead. "We're in the hospital. We were picked up just in time. Lucky...again..."

"Oh...yeah...lucky...uhf...are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine...the children are safe, too," Yeen explained before Wikus could stress over the events anew. "The Oolund police got to them well before they were in any danger, everyone's in protective custody."

"Thank- ...there's...someone watching us." Wikus squinted at the massive shape in the corner of the room.

"Yes. We will all have an armed guard until the situation is sorted. This is Lieutenant Leetakaalliwattaru."

Wikus frowned at the burly soldier. "That _whole_ thing is his name?"

"Yes, of course." Yeen cocked his head slightly, again thrown by his human's reluctance to accept something he knew to be ordinary.

"Oy...can I just call him- _can I just call you 'Leetak'_?"

"If you must," the warrior growled in a manner very reminiscent of Tarzier's surly demeanor.

"Mnf," Wikus grunted back, then he pushed the blanket away to have a look at the damage for himself. He ran his hand over his torso, again frowning at the patchwork of tidy, sealed wounds. "More scars..."

"Well...they'll fade. In a few years you won't even be able to see them," Yeen said warmly, running his long fingers through Wikus's messy hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful."

"Would you like me to ask for more painkillers?"

"I don't think that's going to fix it," Wikus sighed, pulling the blanket back up under his chin. "What happens now?"

"That depends entirely on whether or not your friend can be located in time. I've told the police everything we know, but without the physical data, they can't get backing from the Commission to overtake Maj's monarchy."

"Do we even know she has it? What if the chip she sent me was _it_?"

"She's too clever for that, I feel certain."

Wikus groaned wearily. "I hope she's okay. You don't think...they'd send those _things_ after her, too?"

"I hope not, Spucky," Yeen answered softly.

"This is all my fault," Wikus muttered, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. "I'm so sorry..."

"This is most certainly **not** your fault! You've brought to light a terrible crime that's been occurring for centuries. It's come to an end because of that."

"And it nearly got us all killed!"

"You can't blame yourself for a crime committed against you. Besides, we came out of it in one piece. Commander Satu attests that we're both in line for another commendation."

"_Ahh_...I don't want _that_! I want a nice, quiet, boring life. Like I used to have. You know, before I met you."

"I see. You're going to blame your propensity for trouble on me," Yeen clicked with a raised brow.

"Yeah," Wikus answered resolutely. "Yeah! I mean, _aliens_ landed on my planet, but for 28 years nothing remarkable happened to me. Then I spend 10 minutes with you and my whole life turns inside out."

"You poor thing. Can I get you a chilled beverage?"

"You're really a piece of work. You know that?"

"I was thinking the same thing about you."

The pair of unlikely comrades fell silent in a mock stare-down before Wikus finally cracked a smile. "Ah," he chuckled, "Well...maybe that's how you know."

"How you know?"

"Yeah. That you're in the right company. Your life gets 'interesting'."

"You may have something there," Yeen grinned. "If that's the case, I hope it never turns ordinary again."

"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

><p>Wikus was quickly discharged from the hospital's care, but with no home to return to, the family reunited and took up residence in a comfortable hotel suite near OHSM. There they kept a nervous eye on the news feed and attempted to resume life as usual. Even though another attack was quite unlikely, no one went anywhere without a soldier shadowing them.<p>

Three days after Wikus and Yeen had escaped the Horvoss, the development they'd been waiting for made the news: the princess had been found, alive and well. Unexpectedly, Abayomi had turned herself in to poleepkwan soldiers at an outpost not far from Patakatifu, data in hand. Once the evidence was transferred, operations moved quickly. The Western Capitol and its people fell under absolute poleepkwan control, headed by Commander Satu. The Palace was emptied of Majhatughans and the Royal family deposed. Tragically, King Posacam readily accepted responsibility for setting the assassins on Wikus and his family, then killed himself. Whether it was done out of shame or simply to deprive his captors the privilege was unclear.

With poleepkwan armed forces so thoroughly integrated in the Western Capitol, seizing control of it was simple and bloodless. The difficulties arose in the Eastern Hemisphere, whose ruling class felt their allies had no right to remove them from power. The Tri-Galactic Commission debated, then decided; Posacam's deceit was severe and widespread enough to warrant upheaval of the entire Majhatughan monarchy. While the poleepkwan Commanders maintained that oppressing and killing Maj's civilians was certainly not a goal of the restructure, resistance meant casualties were inevitable and conflicts repeatedly blazed up and were snuffed out.

In spite of the chaos, Wikus and Yeen were grateful to be able to return to work, and to normality. They had both opted to refrain from a ceremonious acceptance of commendation, so their exploits were transcribed but not physically applauded. Two of Patakatifu's most colorful figures now had another chapter to add to their strange tale, for better or for worse.

Wikus found himself wondering if his role in the scandal was finally over. An answer came several days later with the arrival of an unexpected but most welcome guest. Wikus had completed another typical work day when he returned to their temporary shelter to find Commander Ruwala waiting for him in the communal room, flanked by her guards. Ever the picture of elegance, Ruwala rose gracefully from her seat to greet him, though Wikus's reaction was slightly less dignified. Elated, he dumped his satchel on the floor and sprinted across the room, hopping up to throw his arms around her jeweled neck.

"Oh, my dear Earthling, I've missed you," she said sweetly, embracing him.

"I was afraid I might never see you again!" Wikus beamed as he was set back upon his feet. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"As am I, Wikus. We've just returned from our mining expedition. I couldn't see heading back out without a visit first, especially in light of everything that's happened. I was deeply saddened to learn of the adversity you and Yeen have suffered."

"Oh, thanks, Commander; but we're okay now."

"It is a rare feat indeed for two unarmed civilians to escape the Horvoss!"

"Well, you know, that was mostly Chris's doing. He really saved my skin."

"He is a most remarkable individual. Much like yourself," Ruwala smiled. "You two must have been meant for one another."

"Yes Sir, it kinda...really seems that way," Wikus agreed shyly.

"Please, take a walk with me, there is something I must ask you," Ruwala added, then flicked a chemical message to her warriors with her delicate antennae. While one remained stationed in the room, the other took up a position behind them as they strolled out into the hotel's fragrant courtyard garden. The setting sun gave the air an amber shimmer and those insects that utilized bioluminescence were already warming up their lights.

"I'm sure you know that Princess Abayomi is safely in poleepkwan guardianship," Ruwala proceeded.

"Yessir, I heard. I'm so glad...but what will happen to her now?"

"She's been offered permanent asylum on Patakatifu. We will afford her protection for her entire life, if she wishes it."

"That's good news. She's been through so much..."

"You care for her?"

"Well...yes, I suppose...I mean, she's my friend. Did...she ask about me?" Wikus stammered.

"I have secondhand information in that regard, but yes, I'm told she was very concerned about your well-being. She wouldn't want you hurt, especially as a result of her own action."

"We have a lot in common, I suppose."

"Perhaps not as much as you might think," Ruwala interjected gently.

"Sir?" Wikus glanced up at the Commander, concern growing in his green eyes.

Ruwala sat down on one of the pellet-shaped seats organically positioned throughout the garden. Even seated she was still a good deal taller than the man before her. "Our analysts have been combing the backlogs of the Majhatughan Royals very carefully, and they've uncovered medical records that were deeply encrypted. It seems Posacam's only daughter was born with a rare disease exclusive to Majhatughans...it causes the body's internal tissues to break down as the child ages. Even poleepkwan medicine struggles with this illness; if they'd brought her to us for treatment, she'd only have had a 50% chance of survival."

"So...what did they do?" Wikus wondered out loud, though he was afraid he already had the answer.

"They did the only thing that could guarantee her survival. A human baby was seized from Earth and Abayomi's mind and a holograph generator microchip were placed inside it. All these years, she's been living in disguise, right in front of us. They kept the disease that spurred their choice a secret and no one suspected a thing."

"She's not human..." Wikus mumbled, and plopped down on a neighboring seat. "But...wait, she's not crazy, she seemed perfectly normal! If she's living in a husk, why isn't she showing any symptoms like they said humans would?"

"It's possible the transfer works well when both candidates are infants. Or that she is simply one of the rarely fortunate."

"Or that they know how to do it right and choose not to most of the time," Wikus grimaced.

"There is that possibility, too," Ruwala sighed sadly.

"So...why did she tell me Posacam adopted her?"

"That's the curious thing, Wikus; she told us the same story. We believe she doesn't know the truth."

"Ah, _geez_," Wikus grumbled, "did you tell her?"

"Not yet. This is what I must ask of you...you know her more intimately than anyone else. It seems fitting that you should make that decision."

Wikus groaned and pinched at the bridge of his nose. It was the last responsibility he could have wanted, yet he felt such an allegiance to the poleepkwa sitting beside him that he couldn't deny a small sense of pride in her confidence. "Well...I don't...can I think about it for a while?"

"Of course, Dear One."

"Will I be able to see her again?"

"Yes, in time. Right now her safety is reliant on the security of her location."

"I understand. Well...will you stay and have dinner with us tonight?"

"Nothing would make me happier," Ruwala agreed graciously.

* * *

><p>The pleasant sunshine and gentle breeze seemed a stark contrast to the charred, gouged earth on which Wikus stood. Just two weeks prior, Yeen had been running for their lives across this same plot of land, yet today the tatters of their security were stitching back together. Yeen had brought his partner to their home to witness the progress of its restructure, and it was a rather impressive sight. The house, crawling with workers and machinery, was already taking a familiar shape. Though he wouldn't voice it, Wikus couldn't help but think of termites on a mound; the construction was a flurry of chitinous limbs and wiggling antennae. The entire building and all its furnishings was scheduled to be completed in just a few more days. It would be identical to the first, including Wikus's pelts, toys for the youngsters and freshly planted Nidu in the garden. It would only differ in the few elements that were irreplaceable.<p>

Wikus was grateful for the chance to occupy his mind with something other than Ruwala's request, even if seeing their home brought back some recent unhappy memories. The family had only just been relieved of the need for an armed escort so he stood alone and out of the way while Yeen chatted with the foreman. Eventually the green drone strode back to his Sugati, a small silver object clutched in his hand.

"Anything?" Wikus asked.

"No. They didn't find...him."

"Not even a piece to bury..." Wikus said solemnly, gazing at his boots.

"I'm sorry, Spucky. This was the only recognizable object from the wreckage," Yeen explained, holding out Wikus's fork.

"Huh. Look at that," he mused, taking the utensil and attempting to straighten out the slightly mangled prongs. "Built to last, you know..."

"I see that. And the Fescalt, it had been disabled, and there are some dents from the debris, but it should be fully operational with a little work." Yeen hoped this would relieve some of the man's despondency but was disappointed with his reaction.

"Well, that's good, I suppose," Wikus replied absently.

The worker moved close and wrapped an arm around his friend. "You know, when the house is finished, we can go into town and get you a new pet. You can pick out anything you like!"

"Thanks," Wikus answered, sorrow welling up in him again, "but I don't want a _new_ pet. I want- **OW!** Sonova-_BITCH_!"

Yeen jerked his arm away in surprise as Wikus jolted forward. Something heavy had cracked the man in the back of the heel and he quickly hobbled around to face his attacker. "**ROLY!**"

The huge blue pillbug lay curled up at his master's feet, unrolled just enough so that his little face peeked out at them. "You're alive! I can't believe it!" Wikus cried. He sat down in the dirt, pulled the arthropod into his lap and hugged him against his chest. Roly responded with an eager greeting warble.

Yeen grinned widely at his revitalized partner. "Incredible! He must have been curled up inside one of the cubbies or something when the house went...he's been waiting in the woods for you all this time!"

"How 'bout that, buddy!" Wikus piped. "Oh...you don't look so good, though..."

Yeen leaned down to get a closer look. The isopod's shell was covered in deep scrapes and slightly blackened; his antennae had been seared down to nubs. But thanks to his tough armor, the creature's face and vulnerable belly didn't appear to be damaged. "I think he'll be okay. We can take him to the wildlife center over by Casoth, they'll know how to fix him up."

"How would that be? Hm?" Wikus murmured cheerily, rubbing a fingertip against the flat space between Roly's large eyes.

Yeen straightened with a contented sigh. The family was whole again, and very soon they'd be home. Things had turned out much better than he could have hoped.

* * *

><p>"Then we just take these down to Sub' 3?"<p>

"Yep. And if they're in a good mood, they give us new ones."

"And if they're not?"

"Well...we wait until later," Wikus chuckled. He handed over the last of the spent ion converters and Joji stacked them neatly in a portable bin. It was almost a surreal experience, training the young drone, especially since Joji knew more about the machines they repaired than he did, or likely, ever would. Yet if the juvenile was to take his place with his father as an engineer, he was required to start at the bottom and learn everything there was to know about OHSM's daily protocol. So Joji had been partnered with Wikus for the time being, toting after him through the work day and helping with his assignments. The green worker was more than half the size of his father now, and more like him in character than ever. Sometimes it was difficult for Wikus to remember he was talking with the younger one.

Wikus grunted as he climbed out of the recess inside the cramped shuttle compartment. His wounds, though well sealed, still caused him an occasional twinge, as if they endeavored not to be forgotten. No sooner had he righted himself than his comm link buzzed for attention. When he poked it on, a video image of the ever-frazzled foreman, Lona, blipped alive on the little screen. "Wikus! My office, now, please," he clicked, and was gone.

"Ooh...what'd you do?" Joji teased.

"Nothing! Not recently...anyway...here, you take these. I'll be back shortly, I hope." Wikus handed over the trays of damaged parts and hopped out of the dormant shuttlecraft. On Earth or Patakatifu, being summoned to the boss's office was never a good sign.

Wikus took a swift pace, reluctant to keep Lona waiting any longer than necessary. The drone didn't seem to handle stress all that well, but somehow he managed to keep his division running smoothly. The burden was very obvious, however, and Lona was always in a state of anxiety. It didn't help that his office was located in the most precarious position possible, overlooking Work Bay 6. Four stories off the floor, with a space three times that wide in front of it, the foreman's view could not have instilled a sense of comfort for anyone, Wikus was certain.

It definitely didn't make _him_ feel any more confident, particularly because the catwalk that led to the office was grated, with a simple railing along the outside. It was a lot like walking on a window washer's perch, the volume of space and height to the left creating a stomach-turning disequilibrium.

Wikus was quick to forget the unsettling fantasy of falling to his death as he approached Lona's office. A huge, stoic soldier stood guard outside the door, wearing a painted motif he'd never seen before. Much of the warrior's shell had been blackened in clean and curious patterns and he carried a well-maintained assault rifle. The human, child-sized by comparison, slowed his gait as he drew close, yet the soldier didn't even waver an antenna to acknowledge his presence. Perplexed, Wikus stopped a few feet away and gazed up at the guard, wondering what approach he ought to employ. The soldier continued to stare at the void, seemingly disinterested.

Before the Earthling could settle on anything, the door slid aside and Lona lumbered out, his antennae twitching restlessly and a data port tucked under one arm. The green-shelled foreman disregarded the soldier completely, instead gripping Wikus tightly by the arm with his free hand. "Good, you're here...now, listen. You know...you don't have to make any decisions now. Understand? _Yes_?"

"Yes! Sir...I...do. Yes," Wikus answered hastily, even though he hadn't a clue what he was affirming.

"Good," Lona clicked, releasing the man. "Yes...that will be taken care of...then we can address the export logs...the kitchens need new heating coils..." The poleepkwa continued to mumble to himself as he squeezed past his employee and set off down the catwalk towards the next problem he needed to rectify.

Wikus had never pitied a supervisor before. "He needs a vacation, am I right?" he smirked up at the soldier. "Nothing? Of course not..."

Wikus replaced his jovial facade with a businesslike one, though it would be short lived. As he stepped through the open door into Lona's headquarters, the purpose for his visit induced another wide smile. Princess Abayomi stood behind the heavily cluttered desk, casually inspecting the paraphernalia of a poleepkwan place of industry. "Wikus!" she chirped merrily, and as she moved out from behind Lona's disorganized mess, Wikus couldn't help but chuckle.

The woman had abandoned her silken finery for much humbler, poleepkwan made garments. Evidently no one had explained the difference in fashion preference between genders, not that the poleepkwan artisans would have understood it anyway. Abayomi was dressed in the very same kind of outfit that had been made for Wikus, down to the work pants and sturdy boots. The fact that it was tailored to fit her feminine shape did not make it the least bit ladylike. Gone, too, were the glistening jewels and gold bands, and her hair had been trimmed short and tidy. "How do I look?" she asked, holding her arms out to the sides.

"...Familiar?" Wikus grinned, "...ah, but...lovely! Beautiful. Really. It's **so** good to see you again, Princess."

"It's just 'Abayomi' now," she replied sweetly, "and thank you. I was so worried, when I heard...can you ever forgive me?"

"You didn't do anything wrong. No one blames you...it took a lot of courage to come forward like that. I'm just glad you weren't hurt."

"Oh...you're very kind..." The gratitude and affinity in her voice was palpable as she moved to stand a couple of feet away from Wikus, clasping her hands together at her waist.

Wikus could feel his face begin to flush and he hurried to fill the silence. "So...how do you like living with poleepkwa? It's got to be quite a change, eh?"

"Oh yes, it's an adjustment, but everyone's been so good to me. I really don't want for anything. Well, almost..."

"Oh?" Wikus swallowed.

"Yes...I'm sure you've heard, they're closing the Gate."

"Yeah, sure...it's all over the news..."

"I've decided to go through, to Earth. I think I'd like to spend the next phase of my life there...in your Africa. To live as I should have, among our own kind."

"Our own kind..." Wikus repeated, trying his best to hide his remorse. "Well! I mean, that's great...you'll love it there!"

Much to the man's relief, Abayomi didn't seem to recognize the subtleties of concealment. She moved closer, until there were but a few inches between them, and placed her hands tenderly on his upper arms. "And I'd like to ask you to come with me," she went on. "We can give you a holograph chip to change your appearance a little...just enough so no one will recognize you. You can start a new life where you left off...in your own country...with me."

Wikus gazed into her deep brown eyes and allowed himself the privilege of weighing his options, even though he could predict the outcome regardless. "Well...that _does_ sound wonderful...especially that last part. But...I've started life over from the ground up once before. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I know I don't have it in me to do it a second time. Besides...my family, my home, is here. This is where I belong now."

Abayomi didn't contest his reply, but returned his somber expression with a gentle smile. "Yes. I figured you'd say that."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be! You have your path and I have mine. I'll miss you. Very much."

"Me too."

"If you should ever find yourself passing by Earth in the future, I'd welcome the chance to see you again?"

"Absolutely! I'm sure I can work something out, I mean, it'll have t'be-_mmf_!"

Wikus immediately lost his train of thought as Abayomi pressed her lips against his. The implausible pair of displaced humans savored their connection for a moment before she withdrew, leaving Wikus's head, heart and libido arguing over his verdict. "Goodbye, Wikus," Abayomi said tenderly, allowing her fingers to slip down his arms before she turned and left the office.

After a few seconds of recovery, the dazed man followed her onto the catwalk. The massive warrior finally had cause to break his silence and the pair were exchanging some cursory dialogue. Like a brother looking after his kid sister, the soldier made certain Abayomi was in a proper state before he moved to escort her down the walk. Abayomi turned to offer Wikus one last, kind smile and a wave before she left with her guardian.

Flooded with sentiment and conflict, Wikus watched the couple until they were out of sight. He didn't have his thoughts to himself for long, however. The grating beneath his boots began to rattle as a _thump thump thump_ signaled the approach of someone large and in a hurry.

Panting and agitated, Brutus skidded to a stop beside his human friend. Wikus could smell the pungent aroma of animal blood on the butcher, though his black carapace did a good job at hiding it. "Don't...go..." Brutus huffed, leaning on the railing.

"What's with you?" Wikus asked casually, his brow raised.

Ignoring the question, Brutus persisted. "You can't...leave!"

"Leave?" Wikus repeated, feigning ignorance. "Where'm I going?"

"With her, dammit! I _know_...I know she wants you to go...back to Earth with her."

"Hmmmm...who told you that?"

"It was Yeen who- _what difference does it make? _What'd you tell her?"

"Relax, man, you're spitting...I'm not going anywhere," Wikus assured as he wiped at his suit.

"...Really?"

"Of course not! I could never leave you guys, you know that."

"Oh...well...damn..."

"What now?"

"It's just...Yeen told me you'd stay. I didn't believe him..."

"Well, you ought to listen. He knows what he's talking about."

"I guess. Wish he wasn't always so damn _smug_ about it..."

"I know the feeling. So you'd really miss me that much, huh?" Wikus grinned widely.

"No! Not even...it's just, with you gone, we all have to do your chores and...I'd get stuck feeding that bug of yours...you need to think of someone besides yourself once in a while!"

"You like me..." Wikus goaded with a gratified smirk.

"Shut up."

Whether the ebony drone could bring himself to express it or not, Wikus knew he was wanted, even needed, and it was a very good feeling indeed. There could be no doubt he'd made the right decision. As he relished the fleeting opportunity to tease his sizable companion, the status indicator lights that dotted the factory switched from blue to green, and a tone sounded through the bay, indicating another meal break.

"I am going to lunch, though," Wikus said cheerily. "It's Kelbi day!"

"I know that!" Brutus grunted as he accompanied his friend. "I helped make it!"

The pair of long-time companions made their way down to the cafeteria to reconnect with the rest of the people that gave their lives purpose. Though their friendships had been forged in the most difficult of times, the bonds that resulted were among the strongest Wikus had ever known. Whether it was tested by the splitting of worlds or the soft seduction of one gentle soul, united their family would remain.

**The End**


End file.
